Graceful
by Overly-Romantic-Author
Summary: 10th Doctor/OC fanfic. My first fanfiction! Set during 'The Christmas Invasion': After Rose is taken hostage by the Sycorax, the Doctor wakes up alone on The Powell Estate, without the TARDIS. As he continues his painful regeneration he stumbles across the lovely, undeniably brilliant Grace.
1. Prologue

_Author's Note: I edited some scenes from the show to fit the meeting between Grace and The Doctor, e.g. the Doctor gets left behind in the bedroom when the Sycorax take Rose and co. hostage. Sorry if anyone doesn't like the alterations but they are necessary for the storyline. _

"**Would you like some tea?"**

"London, an urban jungle, a metropolis of brilliance," the Doctor rambled excitedly, staggering across the empty streets in an attempt to find his current companion, Rose Tyler. He hoped she wasn't still terrified of him as she had been after the regeneration only hours ago, and hoped even more that she hadn't been kidnapped after discovering the Pilot Fish scenario.

He had awoken again, not with a psychotic Christmas tree, but lying in an empty bedroom, the TARDIS, Tyler's and Mickey nowhere to be seen, and now, with an overloaded, painful mind he stood breathing out slightly gold smoke in the cold. He decided that walking around was the best option, or maybe hopping, or running, or jumping, moon-walking-

"Do you often moonwalk then?" a curious voice called out from his left.

The Doctor jumped slightly before realising he must have still been rambling, stating aloud, "So I'm still gobby, slightly more ramble-y, possibly a tad crazy. Good. Brilliant. Excellente."

Cursing his inability to shut up, the Doctor turned to the stranger, his eyes widening slightly as they locked with his new found friend's own bright ones; a friend who was also moonwalking calmly beside him. The friend was a young woman, perhaps twenty years old, with the brightest, most gorgeous eyes he had ever discovered in his travels. He pulled his gaze from them, wondering absentmindedly about their iridescent colour, to look closer at this female human.

Firstly, she was beautiful. Adorable: that was the word. She reached his shoulder in height, despite wearing large, rough looking black boots to gain some height, suggesting she was a petite woman. Her hair, an almost unnaturally shiny gold, was wavy and fell effortlessly to below her shoulders, the bangs framing an angelic pale face that currently sported the lovely eyes, slightly blushing cheeks and a slightly red straight, small button nose that sniffled as he noted it. As he continued looking, a small smile stretched over her lips, plump and red, he noticed she bit her lip slightly as she smiled and considered it another brilliant thing.

"You're speaking aloud still."

"Ah."

He immediately shut his mouth, although now noticing how lovely her voice was – was there anything not adorably lovely about this human? The voice was slightly high but incredibly innocent, almost childlike, but not in an irritating fashion. The stranger was wearing a burgundy duffel coat to her knees, with woollen cream mittens, a matching cream scarf and woollen beret/beanie type hat thing – hats were not his forte – with tights and said biker boots.

As he described the girl in his head, she stopped moonwalking and titled her head to the side, mitten-covered hands in her pockets, simply watching him back.

_I like his sleeping-gown. Wish I had mine; it would've been all nice and cosy. I hate colds, yuck. Oh, he's talking again, stop daydreaming silly girl!_

"…name then? Mine's The Doctor." He grinned, waiting for her reply.

"Did you ask my name?" she asked politely, slightly embarrassed at being caught out. As the Doctor nodded emphatically she answered, "Oh, sorry about that. It's Grace; some people call me Gracie though. I don't mind either way."

"Grace. Gr. Grace. Gracie. Gracias! I love it. Brilliant!" He replied still grinning and staring, completely forgetting about the Pilot Fish or the regeneration injury. Happy to talk to a nice human without any issues about flirting (cough, Jack, cough) or clinging (unfortunately, he'd overheard Rose's dismissal of Mickey as he slept, which wasn't very nice). Grace seemed very innocent, and he thought her name suited her perfectly.

"Thank you," Grace smiled before adding, "Would you like some tea? You look like someone in need of tea I saw you, you see, well I did actually but – anyway, on my way home from work, I saw you and you looked lost and in need of tea. Does that make sense?"

Honestly, Grace wasn't exactly sure where she got that idea but something told her it was important, for a split second an image of the Doctor drinking tea had flashed through her mind. _Ah, probably another daydream._

The Doctor quickly replied with another round of 'Brilliant!' and so Grace grabbed his arm and began skipping towards her flat across the street.

"Sorry about the mess, bit of a traveller, never keep one thing in one place for two long," she chuckled, as she shepherded him around various objects from all around the globe.

The Doctor looked everywhere at once, looking to Grace like a child in a toy store. The flat, he discovered, was cosy and cluttered in a lovely, feminine way, giving off a calming vibe, which he had to admit was odd for a room. Then again, he couldn't talk, what with a sentient TARDIS and whatnot.

One wall of the flat held up a big board pinned with loads of different pieces of paper and photographs from Grace's travelling. Images of her in Egypt, France, Turkey, Australia, New York, Tokyo and many more were scattered around, alongside several past invites to VIP events around the world. In the centre of the room was a small wooden coffee table with a letter and framed photo on it. The Doctor couldn't help but read thoroughly in interest:

_Grace Summers,_

_Hey Gracie! Hope you're well, haven't seen you since the premiere. How're you getting on in Paris? I know how long you've wanted to go there and I've got to admire you for still going – let's face it, we both knew David was a complete tosser! Better left behind, you're far too special for that dim-witted buffoon. I miss you, sweetheart - all I've got for friends are lusty twats like Rob, remember him? I don't think he realised you didn't understand the flirting; he's still waiting for you to call him for coffee, love. Come back soon, the missus wants to take you out for a 'girls night' I wish you luck in advance. _

_Anyway, lots of love best friend,_

_Tom x_

"I wonder who Tom is…" the Doctor muttered, before looking at the photo. He raised his eyebrows before hastily putting the photo of the handsome man with his arms around a younger Grace's shoulders back on the coffee table. Unfortunately, he then collapses while shaking with excess energy – what did he need to do to bloody stop this?!

"Tommy sent me that letter when I was in Paris. That reminds me, I need to see him at some point to catch up. Anyway, onto more important things... Tea?"

A mug of tea appeared in his vision and not bothering to explain his apparent seizure, the Doctor seemed to have an epiphany and gulped it all down before shuddering all over, eyes wide and standing with renewed vigour. He had needed tea! TEA!

"Done! I am done. Oh Grace, you and your famous friends and wonderful tea-making abilities, I am done. Thank you!" he kissed her forehead in excitement before clearing his throat from the delightful experience.

"It's alright, I get that all the time, s'what I'm known for – awesome tea." She grinned, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear; all the while the Doctor watched thinking her even more adorable.

"Well you are adorable. I mean cute. BRILLIANT. I mean brilliant!" he stuttered, oh dear, he was still rambling.

She giggled, another cute noise, before patting his shoulder. "Thank you Doctor, you're very nice too." She smiled, innocence shining from her eyes and the Doctor felt like his heart melted. He had a strange urge, like he wanted to protect her and keep her all to himself.

Before the urge grew stronger, the Doctor suddenly remembered the whole Pilot Fish issue. "You don't happen to have a TV do ya?"

Grace shook her head slightly, "No sorry. Not one for TVs or anything electrical really. No phone, no laptop, no TV. I prefer letters myself, more personal." She smiled, and the Doctor smiled back, loving her reasoning but then his smile slowly faded as he realised he didn't have any idea what he was up against.

His thoughts were interrupted by Grace, "If you're on about that monster voodoo thing that appeared on the telly, I heard about it in work. Is that what you're on about?"

He ran over to her and nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, yes, yes! What do ya know? What did it look like, say, smell? Anything!"

"Hmm. Well, my friend Ben showed me what they apparently looked like. Big skeleton thing over a pinkish face? Wearing red? They said a word sounded like sick-on-axe or something. I figured it was their name seeming how they were basically introducing themselves."

She was cut off from further thought as the Doctor had picked her up and hugged her yelling praise before shouting, "Sycorax! I know just what to do. Do you have a sword?"

"No." She smiled at his ramblings, despite her confusion over the entire conversation. He was a funny man, but a good man nonetheless.

"Damn, need to get to the TARDIS… use TARDIS key as a teleport… grab the sword and alikazam…" he continued to mutter before abruptly stopping and looking at her with a smile. "You could come with me, if you want. Could be fun. An adventure."

She smiled back but shook her head, "I am very sorry but I can't. I want to visit my dad, he's, he's a bit older now and I want his Christmas to be a good one. He's in hospital. He needs someone, you know? I can't abandon him now. Not today."

The Doctor nodded solemnly, "I understand. Perfectly understandable. I want to see you again Grace Summers, something tells me I will."

And with that, the Doctor left her home, smiling with a wink at Grace as she grinned and waved back.

Five minutes later, she heard a knock at her door as she readied herself to leave.

It was the Doctor. "I just wanted to tell you, it was lovely to meet you Grace. You're lovely."

Grace blushed, in a heart melting way, and the Doctor teared his eyes away before continuing, "See you soon, lovely Grace Summers."

"You too, fantastic Doctor."

He paused, a curious glint in his eye, "Why fantastic?"

She shrugged, still smiling, "It felt right, and you seem fantastic enough to fulfil that adjective's fantasticality."

"Fantasticality," he repeated, grinning, "Brilliant word."

"Thank you. Wait one second," she rushed into her flat before returning with a Satsuma, "It's not much but merry Christmas. Everyone needs someone on Christmas; I hope you find whoever you're looking for."

He smiled, placed the Satsuma in his pocket, and thanked her profusely, before the Doctor turned once more, and left.

-DW-

The Doctor had been on a very weird adventure during Rose's visit to New New York. Certainly, a lot of fun what with the crazy cat nuns and the creation of a wonderful new species, but now it was time to talk to The Face of Boe. He liked Boe.

The Doctor left Cassandra/Rose, running across the hospital wing where a healthy Face smiled mysteriously back at him. "Hello old friend."

"You were supposed to be dying!"

The Face of Boe smiled once more, telepathically replying, "There are better things to do today. Dying can wait."

After a slight interruption from a snarky Cassandra, Boe continued, "I have grown tired of this universe Doctor, but you… you and a good friend of mine, you've taught me to look at it anew."

The Doctor smiled gently, kneeling down beside the glass tank, "There are legends, and they say you are millions of years old."

"There are?" Boe laughed kindly, "That would be impossible."

"I… I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me."

The Doctor was desperate to know what the 'lonely' traveller of the legend was supposed to find out. He was sure it was him, despite how self-obsessed that sounded. It just had to be!

"A secret." Boe's eyes drifted slightly as if revelling in fond memories, "Ah yes, but the time for that secret is not yet upon you. First you must seek help from a graceful old friend."

The Doctor looked up startled, "Graceful old friend? What? Who?"

"Ah but that is all a part of the mystery, good Doctor." The Face of Boe smiled once more before stating mysteriously, "Until we meet again," and with that he transported away.

The Doctor absentmindedly spoke of it being 'enigmatic', his expression thoughtful. He nodded and turned to face Cassandra/Rose, who winced at the sight of her vessel's bitten fingernails.

"Now for you," he walked towards the blonde haired woman.

Eventually, after Cassandra was left with her past self, Rose and the Doctor sat silently in the TARDIS, as it took them on a new adventure.

"What do you think the Face of Boe meant?"

The Doctor looked up into Rose's hopeful kohl-lined eyes. He was slightly wary of his companion's new found feelings for him in this body; ever since he regenerated she had become a bit… flirty, as if she was now attracted to him based entirely on looks, which seemed slightly superficial to him. The kiss Cassandra had forced upon him had been uncomfortable and unwanted, he wasn't human and was simply better alone. Rose needed to understand this, and do it soon. But that was a conversation for another time, one not following the death of a sort-of not-quite enemy of theirs.

For a fleeting moment, his thoughts drifted back to the almost-companion from his last journey to Earth, thinking about her intuition with the tea and Satsuma (both vital in the fight against the Sycorax) as well as her calm acceptance of the stranger she came across. Because, he had to face the truth, he was a madman.

He stood and muttered, "I'm not sure. But I will find out."


	2. Chapter 2

"**Well, the teachers are just plain freaky."**

Sarah Jane-Smith sat at her kitchen table, attempting to coax K9 into life again, to no avail.

With no luck, and no wagging tail, she switched the kettle on. Undoubtedly, she was heartbroken because despite being made of metal he was still her friend and pet dog, regardless of odd appearances. She sniffled slightly, reminiscing on days long gone filled with aliens, strange planets and the Doctor, but quickly removed thoughts of him – oh how she missed him! – In favour of making a cup of tea.

A sudden ringing alerted her that the doorbell was deciding to interrupt her peace, so she made her way to the front door, opening it to find a smiling, if slightly determined, young woman. She was lovely, seeming to exude innocence, beauty and kindness all at once, and with that thought Sarah-Jane immediately was on edge. No one is usually that nice. This girl looked like a stereotypical angel.

Creepy.

"Can I help you, Miss?" She asked, eyeing her warily despite the girl's continued smiles, and startlingly bright eyes.

The girl in question simply tucked a lock of golden wavy hair behind her ear, scrunching her nose up sheepishly before replying.

"Hello there! I am so sorry to disturb you on such a lovely day," the girl looked up at the cloudless, blue London sky, before looking back at Sarah-Jane, "it's just I need your expertise. First things first, are you Sarah Jane Smith?"

Now standing rigidly, pursed lips and tensed jaw, Sarah-Jane simply nodded silently.

"I'm Grace. You can call me Gracie if you want, Gracie Summers. You see, I have a friend, Tommy, who noticed something weird when he was talking to his nephew."

Intrigued, Sarah-Jane leaned in, her initial fears being slightly overwhelmed by how genuine the young woman seemed. "What was it, may I ask? And why do you need my help?"

Looking her dead in the eye, Grace continued with no sarcasm or humour, "Well… basically he became a genius overnight and could work out the square root of 56780 in a second! Anyway, I knew something must be going on in that school, because he said everyone was at his level. I dug around a bit, visited him at school, no suspicious questions or anything. Snuck into the staff rooms, and listened in. Well, the teachers are just plain freaky. And, it can only be one of two things: Terrorists or aliens. Personally, I think its aliens. I promise I'm not crazy; I just had this feeling its aliens. I Googled experts, and I noticed your name cropped up now and again. I took a chance. Please help, Tom's insanely worried."

Sarah-Jane immediately invited her into the house, shutting the door firmly behind her to continue an intense discussion and a plan of action for the next day, cup of tea in hand.

-DW-

The Doctor giggled as the teaching staff gossiped about the remarkably elusive 'lottery ticket' that allowed him to take a teaching place at the school.

As he pondered over the funny human species, Mr Finch (definitely something up with the Headmaster) walked in to the staff room, accompanied by two familiar faces. The Doctor stared in disbelief.

"Excuse me, colleagues! A moment of your time please," Mr Finch called to the room, silencing it in either obedience or fear, the Doctor wasn't too sure.

More importantly, why the… why the, why were his ex-companion and attempted-companion standing in the door, one smiling around at the room, the other with her head tilted, staring at him curiously?! Oh dear. Maybe they'd formed a club!

A fan club! Wouldn't be the first time. This was embarrassing. But he could get through it, they were both lovely. Still are.

He allowed his eyes to roam over Grace's professional burgundy dress, knee length with matching heels, holding a tape recorder. She was so… adorably lovely. He sighed contentedly before lazily raising his eyes from her slender, creamy legs, to find her staring at him withholding laughter.

"Ah."

The whole room was staring at him with raised eyebrows, amused.

"That sigh was a bit loud wasn't it?" He mumbled to himself, making sure he lowered the volume this time. As he blushed and smiled bashfully, everyone began, slowly, going back to their business –which, from what he could overhear, now concerned his gawking of the young journalist.

Wonderful.

"Excuse me?" He jumped at the interrupted embarrassed thoughts and turned to face his old friend, Sarah-Jane Smith.

"Hello Sarah-Jane."

Completely forgetting he was a new doctor to her, he innocently smiled as her eyes widened, possibly in admiration, he liked to think so anyway. He didn't think for one second that she didn't know him, because after all, she was with another of his friends!

_Coincidence? I think not!_

"Who? My name is Lily Summers. Who are you? The Headmaster just stated my name was Lily Summers."

He blanched at his mistake. Sure he'd heard her fake name. Probably matching Grace's, who, he noted, stood across the room interviewing another teacher. But they were friends…

"You don't have to pretend Sarah-Jane, it's only me. It's lovely to see you again."

He grinned, waiting for a returning grin, but instead watched as she warily looked him over for any signs of recognition, before nodding stiffly and walking over to Grace.

His grin fell from his face in shock, did she not like him anymore? He had left her in Croydon all those years ago, he supposed. But, but, he couldn't be blamed for that! It was necessary!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Grace continued her interview with a man named Mr Fitzgerald, who rather ironically hated English Lit, by his tone.

"Honestly, never met such a bunch of brats in my life…"

Grace allowed him to complain, as her thoughts returned to the strange man across the room. She knew him; he was that Dr Guy, the one from Christmas, almost a year ago! He was even in the same outfit! But, he clearly didn't realise it was her; he just stared at her legs before letting out a loud, bored sigh. The Dr had seemed excited and happy, not bored. Then again, he was probably drunk…

Suddenly, an image of a screeching bat flashed across her mind, almost warning her. It can't be nothing – must be something to do with these aliens. Telepathy maybe?

"-Can I just talk to my partner, please? Thank you! Gracie, you were right. But we need to get out of this room. They're onto us, they know us," Sarah-Jane didn't bother pointing to the strange man across the room; it would be too obvious she was attempting an escape. She placed a protective arm over Grace's shoulders, steering her out of the room. Sarah-Jane couldn't explain it, but she'd felt a huge sense of protectiveness rush over her when it came to Grace. She was just… sweet. Couldn't hurt a fly… just curious about the world. Like her Doctor in that regards.

Shrugging off thoughts of her lost explorer, she continued out of the room, stating how one of the teacher's had spoken her name and basically laughed at her once she was discovered! They had picked 'Summers' because Gracie wasn't exactly famous! But Sarah-Jane was recognised as an alien expert online, so a cover name had been necessary.

She turned her attention back to the young girl at her side. Gracie couldn't have been more than nineteen at most, yet she was a walking paradox in some respects. Though, not the Time Lord paradox, thank God! No, she just seemed both intuitive and naïve all at once. It was strange.

"I feel a bit uncomfortable in this dress… bit tight for me, I think," Gracie muttered, her hands fluttering self-consciously down her waist. Sarah-Jane smiled. That was the naivety, the obliviousness that Gracie seemed to have of her own beauty. It was kind of nice that she was modest.

But her next remark reminded them she was often intuitive to a strange extent:

"Listen, I have a weird feeling this is something to do with bats. Like, bat creatures or aliens or something. We need to do something, for these children."

Sarah-Jane, although confused how she deduced bats from their interviews, simply nodded, smiling at the teen. "If you think so, how did you figure that one out?"

Grace stopped, turned to her and took a deep breath, before whispering, "I saw it."

"Saw it?"

"I had a flash of an image across my mind. I promise. I'm not crazy."

"You say that a lot you know."

"I'm not crazy?"

"Mm."

"Yeah... bit worrying, really."

The two females left, preparing to break in that evening.

-DW-

Sarah-Jane Smith ran down the corridors, breathing heavily.

_Oh God, Gracie, I hope you get out of here._

Only moments after attempting to break into Mr Finch's office, bat-like screeches had reverberated off the corridor's walls, and with only seconds to escape, Gracie demanded that the older woman run while she made a quick diversion. What diversion it was, Sarah-Jane had no idea. In fact, she was pretty sure it was to run in the opposite direction and hope for the best.

Panicking, she almost ignored the strange blue police box in front of her. Almost.

"Oh my…" she breathed.

A voice called out, "Hello Sarah-Jane."

Turning around quickly, she saw the strange man from that afternoon.

"D-doctor?"

He smiled; slightly relieved she didn't hate him. He hadn't been able to find either of the companions after the staff meeting, and had been informed they'd left the school. But where was Grace Summers now?

"-you've regenerated!" His thoughts were cut off, and he talked fondly with his favourite past-companion. Oh Mrs Smith. She is brilliant!

Suddenly, they heard a scream and, both grinning, legged it. They immediately bumped into Rose.

"Did you hear that?" Rose gasped, before frowning at Sarah, "Who's she?"

"Rose, Sarah Jane," The Doctor gestured between them, "Sarah Jane, Rose!"

He was happy his friends could meet, but his happiness slowly wore off as Rose rudely looked over Sarah, as they shook hands.

As they stiffly introduced themselves walking down the corridor, they eventually reached Mickey.

"Sorry, it was only me! You told me to investigate so I… I started looking through some of the cupboards and these," he gestured to the dead rats, "fell out." Mickey gulped, feeling slightly disturbed. It was a bit unsettling that this used to be an ordinary school and now it was all alien and bad.

"And you decided to scream?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"It took me by surprise!"

"Like a little girl?"

"It was dark, I was covered in rats."

"I'm thinking nine, maybe ten years old, frilly skirt, pigtails?"

Although the timing was a bit off, the Doctor couldn't help it. He wanted to ease the tension between the female humans. Why was Rose glaring at Sarah? The joke was interrupted by Sarah who gasped loudly, "I need to find my friend."

Rose rolled her eyes, "Yeah, okay, bye bye."

The Doctor frowned at the hostility before softening his look at Sarah, "Who's your friend?"

"Her name's Grace Summers. This whole investigation was her idea, she thought something weird was happening at the school," The Doctor began to interrupt, "Never mind now! I need to go help her! She was a diversion earlier!"

And Sarah ran down the corridors, Rose making snarky conversation on her left and the Doctor deep in thought on her right.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything but who exactly are you?" Rose glared.

"Sarah Jane Smith. I used to travel with the Doctor."

"Oh well, he's never mentioned you."

The two bickered, picking up their pace while the Doctor fell slightly behind, Mickey put an arm around his shoulders jokingly, "Oh ho, the missus and the ex! Welcome to every man's worst nightmare!" He chuckled, walking on. The Doctor frowned.

They all slowed to a halt outside Mr Finch's office once more, Sarah looking everywhere for Gracie, when suddenly they all heard light footsteps. Turning, they found Grace running quietly towards them from the opposite corridor, dressed in a tight black tunic, black leggings and black boots; perfect for running.

"Gracie! Thank God you're alright!" Sarah exclaimed hugging the girl, who looked a bit surprised by the amount of people breaking into the building.

"I'm okay, don't worry. Are you alright, Sarah? It was a little bit scary running, but I figured out I was right – I saw one of the bats, ran away from it all over the place until I got back to here."

The group stared at Gracie: Rose in a scrutinizing distaste, Sarah in relief, Mickey in appraisal and The Doctor in shock that she'd figured all that out.

He soniced open the office to realise Gracie was spot on. Above them, were sleeping bats.

"You're brilliant as always Gracie." He grinned and she grinned back, albeit slightly confused.

"Why're you here Doctor?"

But before he could reply, Rose cut her off, "Who the hell are you?" She could deal with the older, wrinkled companion easy, but this girl, she was younger than her! Only nineteen maybe! Plus, Rose couldn't deny she was beautiful; she wore no makeup that she could discern, but her lips were still red, her eyes stood out, her skin porcelain, her hair golden. She was bloody perfect. Even Mickey, her lovesick ex-boyfriend was checking her out! And, Rose's eyes hardened, the Doctor was too.

Rose hated her instantly.

Gracie frowned, slightly put out by the rude tone, and quietly mumbled, "Just Grace."

But, the Doctor came to her rescue. "I met her after you left me when I regenerated, she gave me that tea. Remember? I needed it to revitalise me basically! Genius! Grace, what are _you_ doing here?"

She smiled slightly, although still a bit embarrassed from the harsh first encounter with Rose. "Adventure."

The Doctor grinned in reply, before slowly shutting the office door, with an unreasonably loud click… awaking all the man-eating bats.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Thanks for the reviews and everything! I'm still creating Grace's character, not sure whether I want her to be an official companion quite yet or not… but thanks, and hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

"**I have to admit, I'm a bit terrified of you."**

The group ran outside, breathing heavily. Mickey spoke worriedly, "I am not going back in there! No. Way."

Rose gasped, clutching the Doctor's arm to get his attention away from the newcomers, "Those were teachers!"

Grace realised something and spoke calmly, "When Finch arrived it was a large group of newbies at once. Thirteen new staff members-"

"-Thirteen bats," the Doctor finished, "Brilliant! We should get to the TARDIS, analyse that oil, Rose got."

As everyone began walking, the Doctor realised Grace stood still in the parking lot. "Are you alright?"

She smiled, "Of course, all this excitement… it's a little bit crazy."

Her smile faltered, and so the Doctor asked, "What is it?"

"Aliens terrify me. I can't believe this is all… real. It's a bit too dreamlike, don't you think? A bit _E.T. _meets_ Mission Impossible."_

The Doctor fidgeted, uncomfortable. "Grace… I'm, I'm an alien. Everyone already knows."

_That sounded so much better in my head. Smooth, real smooth. _

The Doctor watched as Grace's eyes widened, body stiffened and she stepped back slightly.

"Um," she fumbled, "Ok, not what I was expecting. Are you sure you are?"

Her naivety was a bit amusing, but the Doctor knew this could be a make or break situation.

"Yes." He hoped she wasn't scared but he couldn't blame her, after all he was from a different planet. He lowered his head, looking at the beaten Converse he wore.

_She probably thinks I'm evil too after seeing those creatures._

A warm, small hand slipped into his own, entwining fingers, despite the fact his hand engulfed hers in size. He looked down and smiled fondly at Grace.

"I have to admit, I'm a bit terrified of you," The Doctor's smile fell, "But, I can tell you aren't like them," she looked back at the school, "I just have a feeling I can trust you. So I'm gonna go with it. For now, at least." The Doctor grinned at her, although she seemed a bit more reluctant now, he could tell she was trying. "Now, what's a TARDIS?"

"I'll show you the TARDIS. Promise."

They caught up with the rest of the group before Grace let go of the Doctor's hand, which he'd expected after dropping the alien bomb on her, and called to Sarah, "Hey! We could analyse this oil, couldn't we?" giving a meaningful look.

Sarah-Jane grinned and looked to the Doctor, "Gracie's right, as always. I have something to show you!"

Grace and Sarah ran towards the red car at the end of the lot, opening the boot and revealing a small robotic dog.

"K9!" the Doctor grinned, "Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, allow me to introduce K9, well, K9 Mark III to be precise."

"He's adorable, isn't he?" Grace smiled, scrunching up her nose. The Doctor looked down and smiled at her cute mannerisms, before shaking himself out of it – he needed to focus.

Suddenly, Rose shoved Grace out of the way. "He's so retro," Rose corrected, clearly unhappy and unimpressed. "Why does he look so...disco?"

"Oi!" the Doctor said, "Listen in the year 5000, this was cutting edge! What's happened to him?"

"Oh, he was fine and then one day, nothing! He just stopped!" Sarah Jane sighed.

"Well, didn't you try and get him repaired?" The Doctor asked, furrowing his brows.

"How could she?" Grace asked, smiling innocently at her logic, "Half the technology used to make him won't be around for at least another 2,500 years if he's from the year 5000."

Sarah Jane nodded, "Grace is right! I showed her K9 when I met her and we both realised the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone else!"

Grace smiled at Sarah. It was obvious the older woman had been wary when she'd introduced herself two days ago, but they'd bonded over the adventure and their mutual excitement over aliens. Now though it seemed like she actually trusted her enough to meet K9, which was wonderful. Grace was quite quiet; not necessarily shy - case in point, her first meeting with the Doctor - but she spoke quietly and sometimes, that led to being overlooked. Rather than being explosive, she was calm, and it was always easy to forget someone calming.

She looked happily around at the new faces. The Doctor was mad but she loved that, and could see him becoming a good friend. Although, she thought, she did need to think about the whole alien business. She knew she wasn't the brightest of people, in terms of common sense, because of living a pretty sheltered life in terms of violence or danger or anything bad, really. It was brilliant as childhoods went, but it meant she was still learning, still innocent, which was bad. Because innocence was almost another word for stupid. It was the reason people babied her so much, but also the reason she got scared so easily.

She gulped; she didn't want to let everyone down.

But then she looked to the glaring blonde girl next to him. It was obvious from their first introduction that Rose didn't like Grace, although she wasn't sure why, they had only just met. She swallowed, hating any form of confrontation. Hopefully, Rose would stop being rude.

"Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you?" the Doctor cooed at K9, "Eh?"

Rose and Mickey stared at him as though he were crazy. Grace noticed this and chuckled, already having accepted he truly was a madman.

"Look. No offense," Rose glared at Sarah but more at Grace, "could you just stop petting that thing for a minute? Never mind the tin dog, we're busy!"

The Doctor looked to the sky, growing serious, "I think we should go somewhere else…just for now."

-DW-

They decided on a nice chip shop close by. The Doctor and Sarah sat around a table by the window, working on K9, while they chatted together.

Mickey and Rose stood at the counter, ordering chips, "You see, what's impressive is that it's been nearly an hour since we met them and I still haven't said 'I told you so,'" Mickey smirked.

"I'm not listening to this."

"Although, I have prepared a little 'I was right' dance that I can show you later."

She handed over the money for her chips, tucking into them immediately.

"All this time you've been giving it, 'he's different!' When the truth is, he's just like any other bloke with loads of girls!"

Rose plopped down in a seat away from the couple, "You don't know what you're talking about."

Mickey smiled, "No, maybe not."

But he knew he was right. Rose had been awfully jealous and obvious about it too. He could see why; Sarah-Jane was familiar to the Doctor, a past not yet forgotten, and Grace was beautiful and young, a threat to the jealous blonde. But, Grace was sweet and just adorable, he couldn't see how Rose disliked her from their meeting, she seemed curious about the adventure and nothing more threatening. Maybe she came across as naïve, slightly… Mickey didn't like to call people dumb, because Grace wasn't, but she did lack that street-wise knowledge the rest of them had, her mind protected from the harsh realities of the world, it seemed. Maybe this could help her.

After a couple of glares from Rose, Grace had excused herself, and was dropped off at her friend Tom's house, to fill him in, telling him to not allow his nephew into school the following day for safety reasons; they all had wondered why Tom simply accepted that with none of the alien explanation, but Grace had smiled, innocence in her startling eyes, and told them he trusted her no matter what.

As these thoughts flittered across his mind, the chip shop door opened revealing an out-of-breath Grace, with windswept hair.

"Hey… guys… glad… I…found…you," she panted, before sitting with a heavy thud across from the Doctor who grinned. She knew she wasn't the fittest of girls, evident from the extreme reaction to running, so she decided to give chips a miss.

"You're just in time!"

After that, Mickey watched as the Doctor rambled about K9 and the tin dog analysing the oil as 'Krillitane', which apparently were the bats. He had blocked out most of the rambling, following Grace and Sarah-Jane to the car as they placed K9 back into the boot.

"So, what's the deal with the tin dog?" Mickey asked.

"The Doctor likes travelling with an entourage," Sarah Jane leaned against her car, "Sometimes they're humans, sometimes they're aliens, and sometimes...they're tin dogs. What about you? Where do you fit in the picture?"

"Me?" he smiled proudly, "I'm their Man in Havana. I'm the technical support, I'm..." he trailed off in disbelief, "Oh, my God. I'm the tin dog,"

Sarah Jane patted him on the shoulder and walked to meet the Doctor, going over plans of action.

As Mickey leaned against the car, looking down at his feet dejectedly, he felt an arm link through his.

Grace kept her gaze forward, "I don't think you give yourself enough credit. You think being 'the tin dog' is a bad thing, but it isn't Mickey. Look at how much we relied on K9. Don't sell yourself short. I'm worse off than you; no experience with aliens, this is all bizarre to me," she smiled and squeezed his arm comfortingly; "I think you've been brilliant. Brave and brilliant."

They stood quietly and calmly together, sharing brief jokes about their adventure so far, before Rose spoke loudly enough for them to hear her shouting at the Doctor.

"You've only met her once! What, are you going to invite her into the TARDIS? She's a bit cowardly, I mean she said herself she was scared just from breaking into the school and she's bloody terrified of you-"

"-Rose," the Doctor warned, "don't." He looked over at Grace who had lowered her head, embarrassed. She knew it was her they were talking about, her words to Sarah-Jane and to him. But, she had been scared. This whole adventure was scary. Now she realised, she was being mocked for it, the only coward there.

"Anyway," Rose rolled her eyes, put off from talking about Grace from the glint in the Doctor's eyes, "What about Sarah Jane? You were that close to her once and now...you never even mention her."

"We don't age," the Doctor told her, "We regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone you care about. That's the curse of the Time Lords."

"Time Lord!" Mr. Finch hissed. They looked up to see him and the other Krillitane on the roof. It screeched and swooped down towards them before flying away.

-DW-

The next morning, the group split up; Mickey staying in the car with K9 – although he was slightly appeased by the tight hug Grace had given him as they departed -, Sarah-Jane and Rose together and the Doctor and Grace meeting Mr Finch.

The Doctor squeezed Grace's hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb in comfort. He had brought her with him so she could see he was nice, as far as aliens went, but also thought it wise after she had overheard Rose's outburst the previous night.

_I need to talk to Rose about that too. _

She may have been slightly less equipped to deal with these situations, but she was already learning. It took time.

After glaring across at Finch, they eventually met him in the gym where he stood across the swimming pool. Grace squeezed his hand in reassurance for the both of them.

"Who are you?" the Doctor called to him.

"My name is Brother Lassa," he introduced, "And you?"

"The Doctor."

Brother Lassa looked across, smirking at Grace with a raised eyebrow. She cleared her throat to avoid stuttering.

"Grace Summers at your service," she grinned despite her hand shaking as she held the Doctor's.

The Doctor had to smile at that, she was acting brave for him. "Since when did Krillitanes have wings?"

"It's been our form for nearly ten generations now," Brother Lassa explained, "Our ancestors invaded Bessan. The people there had some rather lovely wings. They made a million widows in one day, just imagine."

"And now you're shaped human." The Doctor glanced at Grace who looked slightly confused at the Doctor's extensive knowledge, before her eyes widened in realisation.

_He's an alien too, and super clever. Knows his stuff. _

"A personal favourite, that's all."

"What about the other teachers? They all look like bats," Grace replied quietly, but confidently.

"My brothers remain bat form. What you see is a simple morphic illusion. Scratch the surface and the true Krillitane lies beneath," Brother Lassa returned his gaze to the Doctor, "And what of the Time Lords? I always thought of you as such a pompous race; ancient, dusty senators, so frightened of change and chaos. Of course, they're all but extinct. Only you Doctor: the last."

"This plan of yours, what is it?" the Doctor asked, standing protectively in front of Grace who was deep in thought about the Doctor's race of 'time lords'. She decided better than to question him considering they were extinct, it seemed rude and too sad a subject to attempt with the man, who was clearly hurt and lonely.

"You don't know?"

"That's why I'm asking."

"Well, show me how clever you are. Work it out."

The Doctor glared in silence before a calm voice quietly spoke from behind him.

"If it's wrong, if we don't like it...then it will stop." The aliens both turned to look at Grace and were startled by the blazing truth in her eyes, and the determination. The Doctor frowned at her for rising to the bait, before turning back around.

Brother Lassa paused a moment, "Fascinating. Your people were peaceful to the point of indolence, Doctor, yet your small human seems to disagree."

"I'm not that peaceful anymore, war changes people," The Doctor replied.

"Would you declare war on us?"

"I'm so old now, I used to have so much mercy," he turned to stare at the alien, "You get one warning. That was it."

As the two left the swimming pool they heard Brother Lassa calling to them, "But we're not even enemies. Soon...you will embrace us," the Doctor paused, looking back, "The next time we meet, you will join with me. I promise you," he walked past them with a knowing smile and left.

The Doctor turned to leave with Grace but she stopped him. "Doctor, I'm scared. I know all the others have adrenaline and excitement, but I'm scared."

"I know. But I promise, I'm going to get us out of this situation safe," she turned to leave but the Doctor pulled her arm back, "Listen, Grace. I'm proud that you stood up to him, but in future, leave the talking to me," Grace frowned at him, "I know I sound a bit sanctimonious, but I know what I'm talking about. I don't want you to get hurt for being brave."

Grace looked down ashamed, before a finger titled her chin back up, she saw the Doctor looking at her gently, before he hugged her.

"Sorry Gracie, I don't mean to upset you. I'm just trying to keep you all safe."

"I know. I forgot they were man-eating aliens for a second, just pretended he was a strict headmaster so I didn't stutter. I'm sorry." She spoke quietly, but he smiled nonetheless. She may not be perfect when dealing with angry aliens, but she was learning, and he was happy to teach her if she'd let him.

"It's okay. Just don't rise to the bait next time," he smiled to her, before leaning into to softly kiss her forehead, making her blush prettily, and they both left. Although, Grace was slightly annoyed at herself, which only grew as they found Sarah-Jane and Rose bickering their way through lists of what Grace guessed were alien species.

"Daleks."

"Met the Emperor."

They hadn't stopped to notice the Doctor standing there, so Grace spoke up, "Guys, we need to keep focused."

"What, putting on the leader act now, are you?" Rose sneered slightly.

But Grace was already annoyed at herself, and therefore, glared back. "Listen. I don't give a shit about your issues Rose," they all paused, shocked that the tiny, quiet girl had actually used a swear word, "but listen up. I'm not trying to act like a leader I'm trying to keep you two on track for the sake of this situation. My friend is counting on me to sort this situation out. The Doctor is counting on you two to help, and so am I. Sarah, I already asked for your help; please don't make me do it again. Just, for goodness' sake, leave the bickering, be professional and all the personal business can be dealt with maturely, or immaturely as you clearly prefer, later, got it?"

Everyone in the room nodded silently, including the Doctor who had to admit, was a little proud and impressed by the girl's sudden authority.

Grace nodded, firmly said, "Good, let's get going," before turning away, not meeting anyone's eyes as the anger dissipated and she blushed at her rudeness.

Luckily, the awkward silence lasted a few seconds before they were saved by the bell – no pun intended – as a buzzer went off, "All pupils to class immediately," the speaker called, "And would all members of staff congregate in the staff room."

Children tried to get inside the IT suite the Doctor, Grace, Rose, and Sarah Jane were in but Rose quickly shooed them away, "No, no, this classroom's out of bounds. You've all got to go to the South Hall. Off you go, South Hall!"

The children turned as Rose shut the door with a huff of air, still peeved at the scolding she'd gotten from a seemingly meek girl.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note: Just to let you all know, it is gonna be slightly AU, because I don't want to just end up copying the storylines word for word – it's already been done with other OC's, and I don't think I'd do it as well as they have! So if you think it's different accidentally, it most likely isn't and I'm not going to write every single episode into the story. Thanks for the follows/favourites/reviews, I won't be revealing anything about the story though, I've already got my plotlines set up. You'll just have to keep reading!**_

**"Actually, he looked a little bit like Giles from Buffy."**

Grace stood to the side, watching as the Doctor looked horrified at the rotating cube shown on each computer, the 'Skasis Paradigm' he had called it moments ago. Unfortunately, she also noticed Brother Lassa appear in the back of the classroom.

"Let the lesson begin…" he drawled, smiling maliciously. Grace tuned out the enemy's extremely clichéd speech, until the Doctor softly spoke next to her,

"I could save everyone…"

She realised, he had been slightly convinced, but knowing that the machine would suck the souls out of young children made her rush up to his side, holding his hand tightly. He looked down at her, seeing her shaking her head at him and nodded ever-so-slightly.

Sarah Jane hadn't noticed this and spoke anyway, "No. The Universe has to move forward. Pain and loss… they define us as much as happiness and love."

Grace continued, sadly thinking of her lost parents, "Whether it's the universe or a relationship, everything has it's time. Everything ends." It was a sad truth, but a truth nonetheless. Grace had accepted it with the deaths of her mother and father when she was young, and she'd be damned if this bat man (_ha, batman_) was going to disrespect their memories, skewing it to feed the Doctor lies.

Luckily, the Doctor had taken their words of wisdom on board.

Everyone turned to look at the Doctor as he narrowed his eyes, before he picked up one of the chairs, throwing it at the screen angrily. The group ran out of the classroom, as the Krillitanes followed hungrily, Brother Lassa striding after them in fury.

"Leave the Doctor alive, as for the rest… you can feast."

Soon, they found Mickey and a young schoolboy running towards them, only for them to quickly turn around and run into one of the classrooms, away from the giant bats.

Grace whimpered in fear but soon cleared her throat, adrenaline rushing through her to keep her focused as she crouched down next to the boy, "What's your name?"

"Kenny, Miss."

"Well Kenny, I'm Grace Summers. You are extremely brave. Can you hide under hear for me? Thanks," she smiled shakily at him before turning to keep a lookout, shielding Kenny under the desk. K9 appeared, shooting at the bats too.

As one of the bats aimed for Mickey, Grace tackled him, only to feel a searing pain in her neck as the creature bit her. She screamed, tears pooling in her eyes, as it sucked her blood but suddenly, it stopped. The Krillitane shrieked, pulling back from Grace in what appeared to be shock before flying back to Brother Lassa, who stared at her curiously.

"What have we here…" he muttered, his eyes scanning her in intrigue.

The Doctor interrupted, uncomfortable with them staring at Grace, so he scooped her up into his arms, holding her protectively, and shouted, "Right, we have to get Grace out of here. Kenny, pull that fire alarm, quickly!"

Kenny ran across to the fire alarm and yanked it down causing the bats and Brother Lassa to shield their ears in pain, falling to the ground.

Sarah Jane ran outside with the others, as K9 and The Doctor remained inside, with Mickey picking up Grace into his arms which was surprisingly easy given how small she was.

Grace sniffled, holding in cries from the pain in her neck, allowing her head to rest against Mickey's shoulder. Her eyesight blurred from the loss of blood.

Mickey looked down and smiled at the younger girl, "Thank you, you know, for savin' me in there."

Grace let out a weak chuckle, "No worries. Wish I hadn't now, bit of a wimp with blood."

He gently placed Grace into the back of Sarah Jane's car, placing a soft green blanket over her as the school suddenly exploded, with all the children already outside, cheering loudly.

The Doctor and Sarah Jane ran to the car, Sarah crying at the loss of K9.

The Doctor pulled Grace up hugging her, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, bit tired though. Getting really fuzzy…" she mumbled, leaning against him as her thoughts swirled around in her mind, "Shame about the bite. Could've done without that… I like your glow-y stick, super techno."

The Doctor smiled as he flashed the sonic screwdriver, "Try to stay awake Gracie, you were brilliant today."

Rose sighed loudly; it seemed the girl played the damsel in distress extremely well. But she knew she could persuade the Doctor to look at her like that, so intently.

Suddenly, the sound of a ringtone could be heard beeping from Grace's pocket. The Doctor grabbed the phone, blushing slightly as his fingers ran over her hip before answering it, "Er hello. I'm the Doctor." He grinned, before realising the person couldn't see him, but laughed as Grace grinned, slightly manically, back at him.

A low, male voice replied, "Uh, is Gracie there? Is she alright?! She was supposed to be coming round today, talking to me and my nephew?"

"Ah you must be Tom. Well no need to worry, everything's dealt with, no more batty teachers," the Doctor chuckled at his, slightly terrible, joke, "but Grace just needs to get a few stiches –"

"-WHAT? Put her on the phone. NOW."

The Doctor winced, handing the phone over to a barely lucid Grace.

_Perhaps, mentioning the stitches was a bad idea. _

"Hey Tommy, I'm fine and dandy. Funny, that rhymes," Grace giggled, slurring her words, "I got bit in the neck by a bat thing you see Tommy, just need a couple'a stitches and I'll be safe and sound. I've got a Doctor here so there's no need to worry. Well I hope he's a doctor-doctor not just a Doctor-Doctor."

The Doctor smiled at her words, stroking her hair away from her face. He shook himself, reminding himself that this innocent, lovely girl shouldn't be endangered by him again. As Grace ended the rather funny phone call he coughed and backed away, seeing Sarah Jane and Mickey watching in amusement, while Rose looked… disgusted.

"Something wrong?" He asked her, but she quickly smiled at him.

"Nope, nothing at all!"

"Good," he turned back to Grace, not noticing Rose scowl at her, "Now you, can finally see the TARDIS Gracie!"

"Is that your wife?"

He laughed, blushing, "Um no, not quite."

"Bet she's beautiful. You deserve a nice wife I think."

Grace continued rambling as the blood loss increased, until they finally saw the blue police box. The Doctor set Grace down, he'd been holding her listening to her crazy conversation with herself fondly, allowing her to stumble slowly, touching the door.

"She's warm, your wife." Grace smiled, stroking the door as if hearing a reply, "She likes me, and I like her I think."

The others exchanged concerned glances behind her, as Grace walked slowly inside the TARDIS, gazing upwards in awe.

"So… any words, thoughts, feelings… possibly about the size…?"

"She's… like a fairy tale."

"Huh?" The Doctor asked, confused. That was a first when it came to reactions.

Grace grinned at him, and his hearts warmed despite her looking fainter by the second, "She's like a fairy tale, magic box with a beautiful, brilliant mind."

The console seemed to happily hum at Grace's words, glowing brighter and brighter, and the room filling with warmth. The Doctor looked shocked, as he realised the TARDIS really did like Grace, and she was telling him not to let her leave.

_Never mind wife, more like my mother, hey old girl?_

The TARDIS let out an indignant hum.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he walked over to Grace, "Now you, Miss Summers, need to be taken care of."

She smiled before her knees gave out, the Doctor catching her and scooping her up again before she could fall over, "Guess you really are a doctor, Doctor."

He grinned, turning back to Sarah Jane, Rose and Mickey, "I'll be back in two ticks! Don't break the console," he winked at Sarah Jane who rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

-DW-

"Ow," Grace spoke groggily as she awoke in a medical room of sorts. She touched her sore neck to find a bandage covering it, but the wound seemed to have basically disappeared.

_Must be alien medicine then. _

Suddenly, her mind filled with warmth, as if someone was smiling at her in her mind. Grace wondered if it was the TARDIS, before hearing a gentle hum of agreement from the ship. She decided that if it could understand her telepathically, she could try a proper conversation without seeming crazy.

"Hello TARDIS, sorry if I said anything embarrassing when I was half-drunk on blood loss," Grace smiled sheepishly, briefly thinking about how calmly she was taking all this craziness. She vaguely remembered the ship was bigger on the inside and the Doctor had mentioned it being able to time-travel and go throughout space, which surprisingly didn't bother her. Considering how crazy the past 24 hours had been, she considered whether she'd finally broken down.

_Hope not, I don't really fancy being called mad…_

She wondered where everyone had disappeared to before continuing, "You really are brilliant though. Thanks for patching me up. Or, thanks for letting me in here to get patched up."

The TARDIS brightened, humming happily.

Grace giggled before hearing a cleared throat coming from the doorway. She spun around to come face to face with the Doctor, who was watching in amusement.

He walked over to her before picking her up as if she weighed nothing at all and gently placing her back on the bed, "You need rest, Gracie. All the blood loss will have made you a bit weaker. So try and relax."

She smiled before frowning, "Doctor, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about earlier. I'm… I'm not scared of you. Well, I was, but I don't think I could be anymore. You healed me. You were my Doctor in every sense of the word, and I don't think you'd hurt me, like the bats. So thank you."

The Doctor visibly preened at her words, beaming at her.

_He's very handsome when he smiles, isn't he? And when he doesn't smile, actually… _

Grace blushed at her thoughts; something the Doctor thought suited her prettily.

He cleared his throat, "You could come with me, you know. The offer still stands."

She glanced up, tilting her head in an adorably intrigued way. She thought through her life, her friends, most importantly Tom, before answering.

"Okay."

The Doctor grinned, as the TARDIS hummed loudly and happily, he chuckled at his ship's fondness for the young girl but realised she was probably too nice not to like.

Grace continued, "One trip though, please. I can't leave my friends one day, come back the next older and different. It would break their hearts. But, I would love to come with you on one adventure. If that would be okay."

The Doctor was saddened that she wouldn't become a permanent companion but continued smiling, "Okay, one trip. One trip to hopefully change your mind."

Grace nodded, remaining silent but thoughtful. The Doctor coughed, before looking at her curiously, "How do you know the TARDIS is a she? Or that she is alive, for that matter."

"Because, well she replies to both my thoughts and my conversation with her so it's obvious she's alive… as for her being a girl, I just know. I get a feminine vibe, and I doubt she'd be very happy if I started calling her a boy, now would she?"

The TARDIS hummed angrily at the Doctor, as if daring him to speak against her.

He laughed before replying, "S'pose you're right. I have to admit you're the first who's noticed though."

They smiled at each other before a knock at the door halted the conversation. A sheepish Mickey entered the room, waving awkwardly at the Doctor who looked annoyed at not having Grace all to himself.

"Hey Grace, just wondering if I could talk to you. Privately," he added, raising his eyebrows at the Doctor who huffed before leaving.

Mickey sat beside her, "I just wanted to properly thank you. No one's ever done that for me before, it was brilliant."

Grace smiled, nudging him with her elbow, "You owe me one," she joked.

He laughed, nodding, "I really do. You saved me."

He hugged her, and she hugged back beaming that she had a new friend. Mickey, thinking the same things as Grace continued, "Now that we're friends, I want you to promise me something though."

He waited until she nodded her assent, "Never ever risk your life for me again. I'm not worth you being injured. You're a very sweet girl, Grace, but please don't risk it. It can be dangerous with all this," He gestured around the TARDIS.

Grace sighed but agreed nonetheless, "Ok, I won't. I don't regret it though. You deserve to be saved too Mickey."

He smiled sincerely, "Thank you. But try and remember to not be the hero for me again, got it?"

"Got it. The Doc actually spoke to me about helping me remember that some of these aliens aren't afraid to kill me after I basically threatened the batman earlier."

"The batman?"

"You know, the headmaster guy from earlier. Actually, he looked a little bit like Giles from Buffy."

Mickey thought about it before his eyes widened, "He really did! Creepy."

They sat together, chatting happily, affirming their new strong bond, while outside the TARDIS, Sarah Jane berated Rose.

"I know she's gonna go with him, because she's a lot like me, and I love that she's adventurous. So I'm only going to say this once Rose Tyler. Do. Not. Hurt. Her."

Sarah stared Rose down, who shifted uncomfortably, "I wouldn't do that."

Sarah narrowed her gaze, "Perhaps. I'm not so sure. But don't. Over the past week, she's become a sort of daughter figure to me, and I don't want her being harmed because of jealousy. If she is," Sarah stepped forward, looming over Rose slightly who was a bit frightened at the glare, "You'll have to deal with me. If I can face down dinosaurs, I can bloody well face down you, sweetheart."

Rose scoffed, "I'm not jealous!"

But before Sarah could reply, Grace stepped outside with Mickey, both beaming, "Hey Sarah! I've decided I'm taking up the Doctor's offer of a journey. Just one trip, but still..."

Grace was unprepared for the sudden tight hug she found herself in with Sarah Jane, but giggled and hugged back anyway.

Sarah Jane pulled away, slightly teary, "I figured as much, dear. No one can say no to adventure. I just want you to know, you can come to see me anytime you like. It was wonderful meeting you a week ago."

Grace smiled, "I feel like I've known you for ages."

They hugged again, happy but sad for the goodbye. Rose returned to the TARDIS console room to go find the Doctor, while Mickey smiled at the hug, before hugging Sarah Jane himself.

The trio returned inside, to find the Doctor and Rose in the console room. The Doctor had been busy with the console while Rose fiddled with it, before she found the TARDIS would give her little shocks to stop her from touching anything.

Sarah Jane sighed happily, looking around. She'd seen the new console earlier, when they'd brought Grace in, but she was still stunned every time she saw it. She looked up at the Doctor and Grace, noticing how his eyes followed her petite friend around fondly, and wondered whether this was the start of something between the two.

_I hope he doesn't hurt her._

She snapped herself out of her thoughts, "I'm off now, Doctor."

He looked up hopefully, "You could stay-"

She shook her head, "Can't. Besides, you've met your match with this one," She nodded at Grace who blushed, looking down at her feet.

The Doctor chuckled, "Fair enough. Sarah Jane Smith."

Suddenly, Mickey perked up, "Can I come?"

Everyone looked to him, only Sarah and Grace with happiness. Mickey didn't want to stay around Rose, a girl who left him for another man/alien, or the Doctor who constantly showed him up and made him feel like an ant, but Grace was his new friend, and he felt like he owed it to her to protect her from the harassment she was sure to receive from Rose.

A jealous Rose Tyler was worse than the aliens out there, he knew that from experience.

Grace squealed excitedly, running to hug his arm, "That would be brilliant Mickey!"

He looked up to see the Doctor frowning at this, while Rose seemed happy that Grace was hugging him, but angry at the same time.

_Figures, she just wants the Doc all to herself. _

Sarah Jane piped up, "Come on Doctor, you need a Smith on board!"

The Doctor finally smiled, agreeing and so Mickey turned to an angry Rose. She didn't want either of them on board with her Doctor.

"Rose?"

"Yeah. Great." She muttered, rolling her eyes, while the silence filled, becoming awkward. Luckily, Grace was oblivious, simply excited to have a new friend laughed happily, hugging him. He hugged the small girl back, chuckling at her enthusiasm, while Sarah Jane and The Doctor said proper goodbyes.

After hugging Sarah one last time, Grace also returned inside to face a silent console room.

She decided to fill that silence, "It's sad though, about K9 for Sarah. She really did love him like any pet."

Rose scoffed but remained silent, while the Doctor grinned, "Ah don't worry! I made a new one while you were sleeping, she'll be surprised with that as we disappear!"

Grace grinned, happy for her new friend, although confused about the disappearance, before finding her body was flung across the room as the Doctor piloted.

"Could've warned me Doctor!" She chuckled, trying to hold on.

He simply ran round to her, taking it as an excuse to slip an arm around her small waist, holding her small frame to his bigger one. With her back to his chest, he held onto the console on either side of her, happy that she was in his arms but trying to ignore how happy he was.

"Don't worry, I've got you! Now, you two newbies, where do you want to go?"

Mickey looked to Grace who motioned him to speak his mind, "Well, a spaceship would be pretty cool…"

Grace grinned, nodding enthusiastically, "Yes!"

Rose, who didn't want to be left out, added, "Yeah, like the spaceship you took me on on our first trip together, remember?"

Grace looked down at her feet. She knew Rose felt threatened for some reason, but she didn't really know what to do. All of her anger and bravery had faded after she'd shouted at Rose earlier, and now she just wanted to become invisible. She decided to not talk to much around the girl to avoid any arguments.

_She's right, I really am a coward._

The Doctor smiled, nodding, but also feeling a bit worried about how tense Rose seemed. He knew he had to speak to her privately. But, for now, the Doctor laughed and fiddled with some buttons, setting them off. Grace ran over to Mickey, sitting next to him on the jump seat, eager, but slightly scared at the thought of a spaceship.

_I've travelled around the world at Tom's insistence, but this is truly terrifying._

"Space it is! Allons-y!"

Grace glanced up at the Doctor, before taking out her mobile, realising she had no signal, "Doctor, is there any way I can phone Tom to let him know I've gone travelling just in case? Also, I need to make sure he knows I'm okay now."

The Doctor nodded, grabbing her phone and quickly sonicing it. He smiled, "That'll work anywhere, any-when."

She hugged him, "Thank you!" Grace ran off to phone Tom in private, wondering the corridors.

The Doctor looked after her, smiling.

_She'll be good for us, I think._

The TARDIS hummed in agreement.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note: I know Grace seems kind of weak/feeble against Rose, but she isn't supposed to be perfect. She has to grow into being braver, and she will over time but it's not going to be an instant bravery. **_

**"You aren't dreaming, Reinette."**

Grace excitedly stepped out onto the floor of the spaceship, only half-listening to what the Doctor was saying. Although she was still nervous, she couldn't help the adrenaline pumping through her.

The ship reminded her of Star Trek a bit, but she noticed something odd at the end.

_Is that a fireplace?_

She could hear Mickey and Rose looking outside at the stars, the Doctor sonicing parts of the ship in distaste at the equipment it seemed, so she stepped over to the fireplace to look inside.

Only to fall backwards at the sight of a very young blonde haired girl looking curiously back at her, wondering who the pretty lady in her fireplace was.

"Are you an angel?" The girl asked her, making Grace smile back in reply.

She shook her head, "No, but I am lost. Could you please tell me where I am sweetheart?"

The girl eyed her, as though wondering if she was crazy, before replying, "In my bedroom. In Paris, Madam. It's very nice to meet you," the girl whispered the end, shyly.

Grace grinned at her, "And it's very nice to meet you. I'm just inspecting fireplaces at the moment, sweetheart. Sorry to bother you!"

As she began to stand up, and head back over to the Doctor who was still oblivious and seemed to be rambling on, pointing at constellations to a confused Rose and Mickey, she heard a shy voice from the fireplace, "You can call me Reinette if you'd like. We could be friends."

Grace crouched down again, before smiling gently, "Well, you can call me Grace then, Reinette. Your name is beautiful."

"Will you really be my friend? Mama says I should focus on my lessons before friends. Even if I am dreaming, I'd still like to be your friend. Being friends with a lost angel would be wonderful." The girl seemed quite eager, so Grace nodded happily back.

Grace realised Reinette seemed quite lonely, and decided to tell her the truth, give her some hope, "Of course! Now, all friends tell each other secrets, so I'll tell you one." She leaned towards Reinette conspiratorially, "You aren't dreaming, Reinette. But you must be tired," she said, realising the room was dark and Reinette was in a nightgown, "So I have to say goodbye, for now. I hope to see you soon."

She waved at the grinning girl, before walking back towards the Doctor who turned round after hearing footsteps.

"Ah, there you are Grace! We were just looking – is that a fireplace? Looks like it's from the eighteenth century…"

The Doctor interrupted himself before walking over to Reinette's fireplace, crouching down as Grace did only moments before. Grace shook her head in amusement, wondering if she should tell him about the little girl or let him find out for himself.

She decided, watching him talk to the confused girl –_where was the lost angel from before?_ – That she'd let him figure it out. She leaned against the fireplace out of sight, before falling backwards into a room after the Doctor flipped a switch.

Grace glared, or tried to, at the Doctor who sheepishly rubbed his neck, "Sorry for not warning you Gracie. Before she wakes up though I should tell you where we are."

Grace interrupted, as she saw the girl beginning to wake, "We are in eighteenth century Paris, Earth, on a spaceship – must be some kind of wormhole thingy or secret passageway like in the films. Also, more specifically, we are in a young girl called Reinette's bedroom."

The Doctor stood, stunned as Grace walked over to the little girl who had just woken up.

_How the hell did she figure that out?_

Grace whispered, "It's okay Reinette, it's me, Grace."

Reinette sat up properly, wiping her eyes, "My lost angel and the fireplace man!"

She looked surprised, and the Doctor did too given Reinette's endearment for Grace, so Grace decided to steer the conversation onwards, "How long have we been gone Reinette?"

It was obvious from the girl's reaction that they'd been gone a while, which was confirmed by her in seconds, "It has been weeks, Madam, weeks!"

The Doctor then woke up from his stunned impression, wondering about the ominous ticking sound coming from somewhere in the room. He looked to see the broken clock and shuddered, concerned for Grace and her apparent friend, Reinette.

_They must have already spoken before I noticed the fireplace. She is brilliant!_

He questioned his concern for the broken clock out loud though, causing both girls to shiver involuntarily in fear. Grace wrapped an arm around Reinette's shoulders to soothe her before whispering, "Don't worry. We'll protect you. Like you said, I'm an angel, so I can keep you safe too. Ok?"

Reinette sniffled but nodded, relaxing slightly, as the Doctor was tackled by what looked like an aristocratic robot.

The Doctor glanced behind the two girls, "Don't turn around."

Grace closed her eyes in fear, but realised she needed to get over her own terror and protect the shivering little girl next to her.

_Come on Grace, come on, I can do this. _

She turned to see a terrifying, lecherous mask staring soullessly at Reinette. She forced herself not to scream, although the mask was horrible, and continued rubbing Reinette's arm in comfort.

As the Doctor talked to the robot, realising it had been scanning the little girl's brain, Grace had a sudden image of the handle on the right hand side of the fireplace.

The robot suddenly answered them, talking to Reinette in a monotone voice, "You are incomplete."

Grace realised they really needed to get the monster out of Reinette's bedroom, just as a sharp, cerate knife appeared from its arm, threatening the Doctor.

The Doctor backed away, hearing Reinette shout, "Monsieur, be careful!"

"Don't worry Reinette this is all a dream."

Unfortunately, after Grace's words earlier, Reinette replied, "No it isn't! My lost angel told me her secret! She told me this is real!"

Grace grimaced, as the Doctor stared incredulously at her, and mouthed 'sorry!'

She decided she needed to be brave for once and help the Doctor. She stood up and tackled its back, causing the robot to stumble away towards the fireplace where the knife jammed into the wooden, stopping it.

Grace smiled, before facing Reinette, "Remember Reinette, I'm your lost angel. So I'll look after you even when it isn't a dream."

The Doctor grinned proud of his partner in crime, before facing Reinette, "Everyone has nightmares Reinette, even the monsters. Do you know what they have nightmares about?"

Reinette shook her head, "What?"

Grace decided to answer for them both, as she pushed the lever her mind had shown her, causing the fireplace to begin turning, "Us!"

The Doctor immediately sprang into action as it fully rotated, freezing the robot with a fire extinguisher, before picking Grace up and spinning her around.

"You were brilliant! Brilliant!"

Rose glared at Grace, causing her smile to falter. Mickey, seeing this, decided to steer the conversation on.

"Excellent ice gun!"

The Doctor dismissed him, "Fire extinguisher," handing it to Rose.

Grace thought it a bit rude to just look over Mickey as if he were unimportant and decided to talk to him, cheer him up, while Rose and the Doctor looked at the robot.

"I thought it was an ice gun too, don't worry," She smiled at him, "This is all mental, huh? Spaceship AND eighteenth century Paris in one trip! I'm surprised I haven't fainted yet."

Mickey chuckled, knowing she was trying to make him feel better, "I'll try to catch you if ya do, you know, so you don't fall through any other fireplaces while we're here."

She nudged him with her elbow, laughing, before noticing the robot had gone and Rose and the Doctor were both frowning, watching them: Rose because she thought Grace irritating and cowardly, the Doctor because Grace was so _friendly_ with Mickey.

"Where's the robot thing?"

"It teleported. Can't have gone far though, might still be on board… or..."

He walked forward to the fireplace, pressing the lever and disappearing into the other room, leaving the trio behind. Rose picked up two guns, ignoring Grace and handing one to Mickey, suggested they look for it.

Mickey nodded, uncertain, before trying to be strong for the two girls and walking forward. Grace faltered, slightly nervous that they were trying to find the evil robot. Rose, noticing this, slowed to face her, glaring.

"Look, just because you fooled the Doctor with your puppy dog eyes and your damsel in distress act, don't think you're fooling me."

Grace tried to defend herself, "Rose, I-"

But Rose interrupted. "Why don't you do what cowards do best, and go crying home to your mother, huh?"

And with that, Rose stomped away, around the corner, to an oblivious Mickey.

"Where's Grace?"

"She said she was gonna stay in the TARDIS." Rose dismissed, walking on, leaving a teary eyed Grace behind. She shook herself, reminding herself that Rose didn't understand the situation, that her mother was _dead._

She knew she was more scared than the rest of them, but it didn't mean she was a coward.

_Who am I kidding? _

She wiped her eyes, sniffing, about to go after them, when the Doctor appeared again gesturing for her. "Come on, Reinette liked you last time, I need your help Gracie!"

She didn't answer, just ducked her head and walked over, before they both revolved around to Paris once more.

"Reinette," The Doctor called, holding Grace's hand. He could see she was slightly subdued and wondered why, but was pulled from his thoughts when a beautiful woman appeared at the doorway, looking at them in awe.

_Not as beautiful as my Grace though._

_MY?! _

The Doctor tuned his thoughts out, slightly disturbed at the underlying note of possessiveness when I thought of Grace. He swallowed sadly; he knew he couldn't be with a human, no matter how brilliant they were. Grace would age and die eventually, no matter whether he loved her or not.

For a second, he imagined her as a Time Lady. She would be magnificent.

He shook his head to himself to halt his fantasies before they engulfed him.

He realised the woman was hugging Grace tightly, not letting go, and bless her Grace was awkwardly patting her back in confusion.

Another voice shouted from the next room, "Reinette, come, we must go!"

The woman shouted back, "I am coming, mother. Wait for me in the carriage, please."

Grace's eyes widened before she hugged Reinette back just as tightly, "Reinette!"

They released each other, each smiling widely, before Reinette hugged the Doctor as well, before she backed away, "I cannot believe my imaginary friends have not aged a day. Rather unfair of you, I believe," she chuckled, "Yet you cannot be imaginary. Flesh and blood…"

Grace grinned, "It's wonderful to see you again! You're so beautiful!"

Reinette blushed, elated that her lost angel could praise her so highly. She looked between her fireplace man and her lost angel, realising how closely they stood, oblivious to the closeness, before she smirked.

_I shall have to show each other their true feelings it seems. _

Suddenly a servant appeared in the doorway, "Mademoiselle Poisson."

Reinette took the time to roll her eyes, grab her purse and leave the room with a last smile for her friends.

The servant noticed the Doctor and frowned, "Who are you?" He then glanced at Grace, his eyes quickly roving over her body, before he smiled.

The Doctor glared at him, wrapping an arm around Grace's waist. She looked up at him, and smiled, innocently and unaware, as he smiled back, slightly smug as the servant realised his intentions.

He then realised something. "Wait, did you just say Reinette Poisson?"

The servant repeated, "Who the hell are you?!"

"Reinette Poisson, later Madame Etoiles, later still Mistress of King Louis the Fifth! Actress, artist, musician, courtesan, dancer… even a fantastic gardener gardener!" He grinned giddily before Grace understood who she must be.

She giggled excitedly, "We're the imaginary friends of Madame de Pompadour!"

And with that, they ran, giggling out of the room back to the fireplace, leaving an extremely confused servant behind them.

They appeared in the empty spaceship, "Rose, Mickey?"

Grace nudged him, "They left earlier didn't you notice I was alone?"

The Doctor coughed, shaking his head, not wanting to admit he wasn't too observant whenever Grace was around. And who could blame him? Her hair shone gold in the lights, her innocent beautiful face made it difficult to look away.

He then noticed the girl in question was giggling, patting a white horse.

She looked at him, grinning, "Can we keep him?"

He groaned, "You know it's difficult to say no to you."

Grace giggled again, before softly talking to the horse who seemed content to rub his head against her shoulder, tickling her, "Don't listen to him Arthur. We both love you."

"…Arthur?"

-DW-

They strolled down the empty corridors, Arthur following them.

Eventually they came across another window, and entered it to see Reinette and another woman in the distance, deciding to follow her stroll.

The Doctor spoke excitedly, "I just can't believe we're the imaginary friends of Madame de Pompadour. I feel awful though… I mean, we meet her as a child, and seconds later we see her again as an adult. She's spent her childhood wondering if we really existed."

Grace nodded; having a feeling it wouldn't be the first time… she had a sudden image of a girl with ginger hair, holding a cricket bat.

She ignored it, not wanting to talk to the Doctor about the feelings she had had since a child, because he might think she was crazy. The only one who didn't was Tom, but she was pretty sure he was just appeasing her.

She replied thoughtfully, "I don't know. When I spoke to her alone when she was younger, she seemed very lonely. So eager to be my friend. I can see how imaginary friends would help her get through that. When I was her age, my parents were already passed, and I just had Tom. Loneliness is hard. Maybe it was better that she could imagine us, get her through it."

The Doctor smiled. "Somehow I don't picture your imaginary friends as robot-slaying people from the future."

Grace shook her head, "No not quite," she chuckled, "to be honest I was a bit obsessed with fairy tales. All of them! Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel… loved them all. Used to picture the princesses as my friends."

The Doctor laughed, before deciding to divulge something he had long forgotten. He didn't talk of Gallifrey often, but Grace was so gentle, that he felt like he could share something with her. Even if it were fairy tales.

"On my home planet, we used to have all kinds of fairy tales that actually inspired a lot of your Earth ones. There was Snow White, but for us it was The Snow, a guardian of Gallifrey with seven foot soldiers who defeated one of the Dalek leaders, keeping Citadel safe. I was a bit of a fan of hers, you know! And the seven foot soldiers were adorable. Then there was The Beloved – you're Rapunzel, you could say. It was believed that one of our leaders was locked away in a tower, and would come back to us to save the Universe from evil. And… the Three Little Adipose - pretty self-explanatory; Adipose are basically balls of fat, you know. And the Toclafane…"

Grace listened to him continue rambling, interested but concerned at the lost look on his face. He seemed heartbroken and she knew it must be difficult for him to talk about it.

She stopped him, and hugged him, mumbling into his neck, "Thank you. They sound beautiful, and it's nice to know your legends were continued, eh?"

He smiled sadly, "Not exactly. Some of those fairy tales," he exhaled slowly, "They were dark in reality, Gracie. The Snow was eventually placed in a personal time lock by one of her enemies, frozen in time, like your story, but she never woke up. The Beloved was lost during the Time War, dead. It was a horrible, terrible time Grace. Our people were mourning great losses, men were transformed into emotionless soldiers, children were dying, the Snow had been lost, the Beloved had been lost and our leader, Rassilon, had lost his soul with it all… it was named The Loss of Innocence, that period. I still mourn for it, every day."

The Doctor looked down, petting Arthur absentmindedly, before he felt a warm hand in his. He squeezed it. Remembering the losses of the Time War was painful, but Grace made him feel a bit lighter. Her humanity made him see things clearer than he had with aliens or even his own people.

She was brilliant.

Together they continued walking, back through the mirror, onto the spaceship to see Arthur waiting for them, out of Paris once more.

_**Author's Note: Hi again! I just wanted to add some context to the Doctor's life, because he doesn't share much with his companions when he's on the adventures… so this was kind of the start of him opening up to Grace. I know all the fairy tale stuff I made up was kind of goofy, but I don't care, it was a small step in opening up!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**_Author's Note: I'm going to release this chapter and the next chapter both tonight! Hope you like them!_**

Eventually Grace, Arthur and the Doctor found Rose and Mickey looking through another of what the Doctor had aptly named, "magic doors".

Grace glanced through the window to see a rather pompous, well-dressed man and two servants entering the room. The man began examining himself in the mirror unaware of the crowd he had watching his every move.

Mickey scoffed, "Blimey look at this guy!" he spoke to Rose, the couple unaware of the Doctor or Grace's presence, "Who does he think he is?"

The Doctor nudged Grace, winking, and then loudly answered, "King of France."

Mickey jumped, shrieking, oddly sounding exactly like a little girl again.

Grace decided to relieve some of Mickey's embarrassment by linking her arm through his, "I had no idea either."

Mickey grinned at her, happy that he had one friend on board, at least. Grace was beginning to seem like more of a little sister of sorts, especially due to her short height, just reaching his shoulder, making her seem more vulnerable than she was already.

Rose made the most of Grace's friendly hug with Mickey, by walking over to the Doctor and linking his arm too. She could tell Grace was a bit quieter after they'd spoken earlier which only emphasised her being a push over in Rose's book.

The Doctor smiled, although disappointed he couldn't hug Grace, he still appreciated his friend.

"Oh here's trouble," Rose teased, nudging the Doctor, "What have you been up to?"

The Doctor grinned, although confused as to why Grace was being so quiet all of a sudden. "Oh you know, this and that. We became the imaginary friends of a French aristocrat, picked a fight with a clockwork man…"

He was about to continue when Arthur trotted into view, nuzzling up to Grace who added lightly, "And found a horse."

Grace softly stroked Arthur's nose, smiling slightly while the Doctor, Mickey and Rose talked. If she were honest with herself, she did feel like an outsider. After all, Mickey was Rose's boyfriend … although it was pretty unclear whether that was a thing of the past or not. It was also obvious Rose had been travelling with the Doctor for a while, which made her actions towards Grace a little more understandable.

Not _acceptable_, but understandable. And Grace wasn't going to step on any more toes on this adventure. It was only one and then she'd be back in her flat, hanging out with Tom, singing at Lilia's, a café near her home in London.

She sighed, it wasn't that she didn't enjoy all this adventure… but she knew Rose was uncomfortable. It was possible the Doctor and Rose was actually an item, so Grace was just going to act a little less centre stage for the remainder of the journey.

She shook herself from her thoughts as the Doctor commented, "France, it's like a different world."

Grace smiled, watching Reinette and thinking about her own travelling to Paris only a few months ago, "It's like an escape from the real world."

She'd been escaping her ex-boyfriend at the time, a guy who didn't understand the word _no_. Tom had all but thrown her on the plane telling her she needed to carry on exploring instead of focusing on 'the tosser'.

_Am I still just running away from my problems only in the eighteenth century?_

The Doctor glanced over, unsure whether Grace meant Paris or the adventure, but her face seemed thoughtful so he didn't question it. As he looked over though, he noticed one of the robots from the ship behind Reinette, who seemed frightened but angry.

Not a good combination. He quickly grabbed the extinguisher from Mickey, swinging the mirror around into Paris once again.

"Hello Reinette, hasn't time flown!"

Reinette was startled as she watched her imaginary friends, a black man and a girl who wore far too much makeup, appear behind her.

"Fireplace man! My lost angel!" She hurried over to Grace, hugging her tightly.

They both watched as the Doctor froze the robot before Mickey asked, "What's it doing?"

"Switching back on… melting the ice."

"And then what?"

The Doctor made a thoughtful frown before lightly answering, "Then it kills everyone in the room."

Grace squeezed Reinette's hand, trembling slightly before she tried to calm herself and everyone else, "Focuses the mind, doesn't it?"

The Doctor smiled half-heartedly before realising something. His hearts were racing, his hands were shaking slightly, and he was _nervous_. But, not for his own safety, no... He was nervous someone was going to hurt… he didn't want to think about the end of that sentence. He wasn't sure he was ready for the answer.

The robotic droid suddenly waved his arm across, nearly hitting the Doctor. He decided to try a less physical approach, "Who are you? Identify yourself."

The droid remained silent. Grace frowned before turning to Reinette, knowing in her gut she was right. "Order him to answer, Reinette… it'll only respond to you."

Reinette was startled by the knowing look in her friend's eye, before she cleared her throat, straightened her shoulders and responded sternly, "Answer his question. Answer any and all questions addressed to you."

She was terrified under the strong façade, but she could feel her friend's arm shaking as she hugged her, and knew that if her imaginary friends were putting on a brave face, then she could do the same.

The monotone voice answered.

"I am repair droid seven."

"So what happened to the ship? There was a lot of damage," the Doctor asked, slowly stepping in front of Grace and Reinette to protect her… them. He groaned internally.

Grace held tightly to Reinette's hand as the droid continued answering questions, feeling sick as she learned it had been using parts of the crew.

She shook her head. That was exactly why she didn't belong in these adventures. That kind of situation was too much for her, too inhumane.

_Which is fair enough because I know they aren't human, so of course I don't expect them to be 'humane'…otherwise I'd sound like an alien racist. Is that a thing? If you're disgusted by alien customs - like chopping up the crew? _

Grace stopped the thought before it had time to grow.

Suddenly, the droid disappeared before their eyes, causing Reinette to gasp, holding tighter to her angel's hand.

"It's back on the ship," the Doctor exclaimed, whirling around to face them all, eyeing the entwined hands of Reinette and Grace with a smile.

_In the face of danger, she still manages to make friends. _

He then turned to Rose and Mickey, "You two, go back through the window, get after it! Take Arthur with you, but don't approach it. Just follow."

Rose frowned, "Arthur?"

The Doctor shooed them towards the portal, "Good name for a horse," He winked at Grace who smiled slightly.

Rose rolled her eyes, annoyed that the girl had once again sunk her claws into the Doctor. Honestly, the alien was too nice sometimes. "No, you're not keeping a horse!"

"I let you keep Mickey!"

Rose muttered under her breath, "Yeah but you have _her_." But luckily the Doctor hadn't heard her, already facing the two girls once again.

Grace hurried towards the door too but the Doctor's hand landed on her small shoulders, turning her to face the door, "I need you to keep watch for me, Gracie."

She smiled, complying while he breathed a silent sigh of release; he really didn't want to place her directly in danger, following killer droids. He knew Rose could handle herself and Mickey, but Grace couldn't… she was more vulnerable.

He turned to face a smirking Reinette who had realised his true intentions behind Grace staying behind. He ignored her sly look in favour of touching her temples, "I'm sorry about this Reinette. But, you have to trust me. I need to find out what they've been looking for."

He closed his eyes, hearing Reinette gasp, "Fireplace man, you are in my mind! You are in my memories… you walk among them!"

He continued searching, muttering, "If there's anything you don't want me to see just picture a door and then imagine closing it, I won't loo-oh, there's a door there, you might want to close – oh no, there are actually several." He faintly heard a chuckle.

Reinette closed her eyes, before deciding to interrogate the mysterious man a bit, "Do you ever get used to this?"

"I don't make a habit of it."

They continued their small talk before Reinette realised she could see a door in front of her. She tentatively walked through before gasping at the sadness.

"Such a lonely childhood, a lonely life…"

"It'll pass." The Doctor was unaware of her discovery.

Reinette frowned, saddened, "Oh Doctor, so very alone."

The Doctor blinked, "What do you mean alone, you've never been alone. Wait, I-I never told you to call me Doctor…"

He opened his eyes abruptly pulling away, "How did you do that?"

Reinette answered in a trance, overwhelmed by the misery of his thoughts, "A door once opened may be stepped through in either direction," she then relaxed slightly, "Oh but you do not feel so lonely anymore, do you old friend?"

Reinette smiled at the blush on his face, a look of understanding forming in her eyes. She spoke solemnly, out of her normal happy character, "You have found love yet you ignore it for fear of loneliness when your love leaves you," he stepped back, glancing at the oblivious Grace yet Reinette held his hand, "Do not fear her Doctor, do not fear love, it may help you more than you know. Do you not think the love of an angel is worth sadness?"

Her smile was hopeful and the Doctor smiled back, thinking through her words.

Reinette pondered over her own words before chuckling fondly, "I have two imaginary friends. One is a lost angel, the other a lonely angel." She glanced over at Grace, "I couldn't have asked for better."

Grace walked back over to them, seeing they had finished before she smiled at both of them, "Well, no one noticed. How'd it go?"

Reinette decided to change the topic so the Doctor did not get any more flustered, "You both must dance together tonight."

"We can't-"

"There is to be a dance. The King will be there and while I dance with my prince, you," she looked fondly at Grace, before taking her hand and placing it in the Doctor's, "shall dance with yours. Now come, my angel and I must prepare for the ball."

And with that, Reinette pulled a stunned Grace from the room with a weary last glance at the Doctor who stood in shock at the conniving, brilliant friend he had made.

-DW-

The Doctor tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for Grace to reappear. He heard a muffled laugh behind him and whirled round to face an amused Reinette in regal clothing and a slightly self-conscious Grace.

He stopped, his mouth hanging slightly open as he gazed at her beauty.

Her period dress, borrowed from Reinette, was a dark crimson, with a golden roped hem around her long sleeves and the neckline. He gulped. The neckline was far more revealing than her previous comfortable baggy, woollen sweater had been; he realised absently she hadn't changed since she'd come from the med bay after the Krillitane attack. The corseted top was tight to her small waist before flowing out over her hips to the floor.

The crimson contrasted beautifully with her porcelain skin and golden curls that were intricately pinned up, revealing her slender neck. A face now accented subtly by makeup; deep red, full lips, glistening at him, a slight blush to her cheekbones…

"Y-you look…" he literally couldn't think of any other word than, "magnificent."

Grace blushed, fiddling with her fingers self-consciously, before Reinette took her hand, leading her forward.

The Doctor cleared his throat and his head before taking Grace's hand, smiling happily, "You both do," he looked to Reinette who seemed smug.

_Of course she is; she basically set all this up. _

Reinette began walking towards the ballroom, the servants opening the double doors and introducing her to the room filled with regally dressed French aristocrats, while the Doctor, arm-in-arm with Grace, followed her example.

A group of violinists began playing and the Doctor took Grace's waist, holding her petite frame to his larger one, before waltzing her around.

He was surprised as she gracefully followed his lead, "You can waltz!" His tone was playfully accusing.

She smirked slightly, "Yeah, I'm a good dancer. As are you Doctor."

"How do you know these dances?"

She smiled, twirling around happily before answering softly, "My Granddad, surprisingly. He taught me all the classics, told me it 'helped build character'. Every Sunday, it was a thing we used to do together, especially after my parents passed."

The Doctor could see the sadness in her eye, so he squeezed her waist, waiting for her eyes to flicker up to his before responding softly, "He sounds brilliant."

She sighed, before leaning her head against the Doctor's chest as they both fell out of the waltz and simply began swaying on the corner of the dance floor.

"Yeah, he was the best."

The Doctor frowned solemn, "Is he…?"

Grace nodded, smiling, "He's gone now, but he always said his life had been too long. Filled with all good things. He didn't want to continue in life without Gran, so he _was_ happy when he passed. Just me left now of the Summers' family. It was at Christmas, remember?"

The Doctor nodded, remembering it had been the reason she hadn't come to the Sycorax ship with him.

He decided to change the subject, for Grace's sake. "Well, your Granddad was brilliant, but I bet he didn't warn you for sudden changes in pace," and with those words he abruptly dipped her low to the ground, his forehead resting against her neck as she squealed with laughter.

The song soon ended, the Doctor slightly disappointed as he released his arms from Grace before offering to get her a drink and heading to the bar at the far end of the ballroom.

He passed Reinette and grinned at her, happy she had planned this for him and Grace… he was _happy_. Content. For the first time in a long time. And it was all because of his angel.

God, he'd picked up the nickname Reinette called her. 'Lost angel'…

_Suppose we're both lost really. But we're lost together. _

He knew he didn't love Grace, not yet, he wasn't ready for that… but he could feel his hearts beating faster, a new, long lost emotion beginning to stir in them.

He grinned at the bartender, "Oh can I have a banana daiquiri? I do love 'em."

He then went on to explain what the drink was, grabbing a stray banana from his pocket and handing it to the confused, dumbfounded man who nonetheless complied, before handing over two, and he turned to see Grace dancing with someone else.

He swiftly walked forward before, not so politely, barging into the handsy Frenchman.

"Got the drinks here, darling," he emphasised the endearment watching realization dawn on the man who awkwardly excused himself.

Grace remained clueless, but thanked the Doctor for the drink before frowning, "Wait. They have banana daiquiris in the eighteenth century?"

The Doctor's eyes widened, realising his slip. He'd been so engrossed with Grace and the ball that he'd ignored the signs. He sheepishly responded, "Uh… they do now?"

She grinned rolling her eyes.

They chatted and finished their drinks before Grace quickly stopped him from returning to dance with her.

He felt a pang at her rejecting him, "Do you not want to dance with me?"

Grace resisted the urge to say 'aw' at his puppy-dog eyes, unfairly adorable expression, and meek stance. "No silly, it's just – Mickey and Rose haven't come back. And they're after that robot; don't you think we should go find them?"

The Doctor nodded emphatically, "Yeah probably should. God knows what an ex-shop assistant, an idiot and the horse can get up to in our absence."

He ignored Grace's protests on behalf of Mickey, waved goodbye to a perplexed Reinette before they headed back to the fireplace, entered the spaceship to face the TARDIS.

There was no sign of Rose or Mickey. But Arthur was attempting to chew on the TARDIS. The Doctor, muttering to himself, unlocked the door, shooed away the horse, before running inside to grab his multi-grain anti-oil from one of many cupboards.

He ran back out to see Grace petting Arthur, still dressed in period clothing.

"Right. Grace, Grace, Gracie." He growled the 'gr' of her name, "You are staying here," he gestured to the TARDIS, "keep an eye on Arthur, I won't be long," he grinned.

Grace frowned, "Why am I not coming with you?"

The Doctor, unfortunately, didn't think his words through, "Well clearly Rose and Mickey have been taken by the baddies, so I'm going to plan a clever plan and save them. But you're too vulnerable to come with me, need to keep you safe. I don't want you to be scared."

As he rambled, Grace slowly became a bit hurt. She was touched that he wanted to 'keep her safe' but did he really see her as weak? And scared?

She realised with horrible clarity that he probably thought she was a coward too. He hadn't explicitly said it, but she could see it in his eyes, to him she was a scared little girl.

She mumbled, "Okay," so he kissed her forehead before dashing off, looping a tie across his forehead as he did so.

Left behind with Arthur, Grace wondered about her own weak nature.

_I need to get a grip._

As she thought over this, she heard a scream. But it wasn't from the Doctor, Rose or Mickey.

It was Reinette.

Grace grabbed one of Arthur's reigns and together they headed towards the sound. Soon she found the Doctor, Mickey and Rose all crowded around a mirror that showed another ball, only this one had been interrupted by the droids.

Apparently the conversation was quite tense. "We need a truck-"

"We don't have a truck-"

"I know we don't have a truck!"

Grace frowned, upset that once again Mickey was being yelled at for no good reason. She was already in a bit of a bad mood so she decided to do something she didn't do often.

Stamp her foot and yell.

"HEY!"

The trio turned to find Grace with her hands on her hips, "I've got a way in."

The Doctor was shocked, "How?"

Grace looked to Arthur, nodding at him, "Horse riding, obviously."

The Doctor stepped forward to grab the reigns before Grace stepped up again, angrily, "Listen up. Reinette's as much my friend as she is yours, so I'm coming with you."

The Doctor's face softened as he gently replied, "You can't, you could get trapped there Gracie."

Grace didn't back down though, "I don't care. I need to be brave for once. So be it. This is me being brave," she climbed onto Arthur patting the space in front of her, "You coming or not?"

The Doctor grinned and jumped up, a shiver going down his spine as he felt small arms encircle his waist; a warmth against his back and breathing on his neck.

_So not the time. _

Together, the couple rode Arthur past a shocked Mickey and an irritated Rose, straight through the mirror before landing in amongst the stunned guests and relieved Reinette.

"Hello Reinette," Grace waved happily, "You look younger every day!" Reinette laughed, shaking her head in wonder of her angels.

The King stepped forward, "What the hell is going on?!"

Reinette then realised her lover was in the room, composed herself before introducing him, "This is my lover, the King of France."

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow, unimpressed, "Oh yeah? Well I'm the Lord of Time, and this is my Lady," he gestured to a heavily blushing Grace, feeling his hearts skip a beat at the thought of her being _his._

He slid an arm around Grace's waist, helping her gently to the floor before carrying on his rant. Meanwhile, Grace ran to hug her friend.

"Are you okay, Reinette?"

The pretty woman grinned at the young girl, "I am now, dear one."

Together, they watched as the droids powered down, unable to last longer now the teleport was broken. That thought made Grace glance up at the window, only to gasp at the sight of a brick wall.

The Doctor saw this and quickly walked over, scooping her up into a tight hug, murmuring in his ear, "It will be okay, Gracie. You're here with me. We can do this together."

Grace's heart swelled at the thought, although she knew she'd be upset at all she had lost when the adrenaline ran out.

Together they followed Reinette into another, empty, room, to look out over the stars.

Grace smiled softly, touching the cold glass, "It really is wonderful isn't it? The stars, so lovely to look at, no matter the year you see them in."

Reinette linked arms with Grace before turning to the Doctor, "You know all the names of the stars do you not Doctor? I have seen it in your memories."

The Doctor smiled, nodding, "I do."

Grace breathed, "The name of every star." She shook her head, slightly overwhelmed.

Seeing this, he shrugged, making light of the situation, "Ah but what's in a name? Names are just titles, don't mean anything."

"Like Doctor?" Questioned Reinette; she smiled at her friends and their obvious feelings to each other. She hoped they would soon find each other properly.

Grace nudged her arm, teasingly, "Like Madame de Pompadour?"

The trio laughed before sobering and facing the stars once more.

Reinette absently noted, "I have often wanted to see the stars a little closer. Just as you have, my friends."

Grace smiled softly. She was glad to have formed a bond with the woman before her. Despite Reinette being at least ten years older, Grace still felt protective of her, probably because it hadn't been long since she'd seen the younger version of her.

But Reinette continued, sadly, "You knew your future when you entered for the last time. You knew, yet you still came. To live the slower path, with me."

The Doctor took Grace's hand, squeezing it, "Yes, when the mirror broke, the shock will have severed all links to the ship." He paused, "I'll pay you for the damage by the way." The girls giggled, "That's a thought. I'm going to need money! Was always a bit vague about money… where do you get money?"

Grace laughed, "I can help you, Doctor. We're in this together, remember?"

They smiled at each other, before turning to face a wistful Reinette.

"It is a pity," she smiled, "I would have enjoyed to spend my time with my two angels on the slow path. Yet today is not the day for it. Come with me."

She left the room, the Doctor and Grace following until they entered a bedroom with an identical fireplace to the first one they had visited through.

"It's the original. I had it moved here, intact."

Grace hugged her for her thoughtfulness, grateful that she could still see her friends once more. Before whispering in the Doctor's ear, "It's her dream to see the stars."

The Doctor smiled while fiddling with the fireplace. Together, they watched it spark back to life, working once more.

The Doctor laughed before facing Reinette, "Wish us luck!"

As the fireplace turned, they heard Reinette whisper a 'no', sad to lose her friends.

Reinette sniffled, tears in her eyes as she lost her angels.

_At least they are together. They'll be happy together, I know it._

As she began to leave the room, she heard someone shout her name. She twirled around, running to kneel in front of the fireplace to see Grace grinning at her, the Doctor's arm around her shoulder.

Grace grinned, "Still want to see those stars?"

Reinette laughed, "More than anything!"

The Doctor smiled, hugging his Grace tightly for her idea of letting Reinette travel to the stars. "Give us two minutes! Pack a bag! Pick a star, any star!"

They each separated, Reinette to the window to look at the stars in joy, Grace and the Doctor to the TARDIS where Rose and Mickey sat outside. Rose ran to the Doctor, hugging him tightly while Mickey hugged Grace, his new yet fond friend.

The Doctor rushed to unlock the TARDIS before grabbing Grace's hand, "We'll explain in a second, just have to fetch her!"

They ran to the fireplace, to see it cold, calling Reinette's name. They pressed the lever, returning to Paris.

"Reinette?" Grace called, a cold feeling forming in her gut.

They both looked to see an older man standing at the window. The man turned, only to show himself as the King. "You just missed her, she'll be in Paris by six."

He stared at them in wonder, "She always said you didn't age, yet I didn't believe her. Here you are not aged a day."

Grace frowned, wondering where her friend was.

Only to stop short as the King continued, "She spoke of you many times. The lost angel and the lonely angel. Her angels, she would always say. Often wished you would visit again."

Grace gulped, tears forming in her eyes. He kept speaking in the past.

The Doctor had come to the same conclusion, and held tightly to her hand. They slowly walked to the window to see a hearse carrying a coffin away.

The King muttered, mournfully, "There she goes, leaving Versailles for one last time."

Grace held a hand shakily to her mouth. Her friend had died, waiting. Waiting for them to keep their promise.

And they had broken it.

The King handed the two of them a letter each as he spoke, before the two silently turned, returning to the spaceship, to the TARDIS.

Grace didn't speak as she walked past the console, continuing to walk until the TARDIS hummed sadly next to her, a door appearing in the wall. She entered it only to see her parents' bedroom from home.

She ran to the bed, burying her face in the pillow crying silently, emptily.

Her friend had lived and died before her eyes. She had promised to take Reinette to the stars and now the woman had died still waiting, wanting.

She stood, removing her period dress that Reinette had given her, absentmindedly remembering her sweater and jeans were now in eighteenth century Paris. She quickly headed to the wardrobe which revealed her own clothes.

She touched the wall whispering, "Thanks girl," to which the room hummed, as if trying to comfort her.

She slipped on a floral ditsy dress, tights and her rough leather boots.

_I have to read it._

Grace unfolded the letter.

_My Lost Angel,_

_It has been years since I have seen you, and reason tells me we shall not meet again, Grace. I feel I must write this for reason is often the beginnings of reality. If I do not see you, I hope you travel with your Doctor, travel the stars and see wonderful things._

_But, I shall not listen to reason. I hope to one day travel with angels in the heavenly stars above. Please hurry, loves. God speed, my lost angel. _

She cried harder, folding the note carefully. The door was knocked softly, the Doctor opening it when she gave assent, and walking across to sit beside her. She shuffled across the bed to curl into his open arms.

He tucked her head under his chin, mumbling into her hair, "I'm so sorry, Gracie."

She sniffed, knowing she had made a decision.

"I can't do this, Doctor. I've gained and lost a friend within a few hours. That isn't something I can handle every day."

The Doctor's grip tightened, "What does that mean?"

Grace exhaled slowly, but resolutely nodding to herself.

"Please, can you take me home?"


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note: This is going to be an original plot, to help strengthen the bond between Grace and the Doctor, which I think is important. Thanks for all the reviews/favourites/follows! Hope you like this – I know it's sappy, but sometimes sappiness is necessary. **_

"**The shadow of a formerly great man."**

"When did you last sleep, Lils?"

"Two days ago."

There was a pause. It hadn't been there before in their time together, but now it lay, brooding, festering underneath their skin. It was 03:56 and David was worried that his wife had finally lost herself to the distant shell she'd retreated into two months ago.

"What's wrong with you?" He barely made it seem like a question, more a statement long ago accepted. The defeated tone wasn't new, but the loss of desperation in his question was; he knew what that meant and it scared him more than she did.

He was losing hope.

She muttered under her breath, frowning, "I needed some time to myself and night time is all I get. No one's awake to bother me. Except you." It was a lie, and she felt guilty, but reminded herself that she needed to fix things. Fix him.

She sat cross-legged, awkward and hunched over piles of paper rectangles. Each rectangle was detailed with pinpricks of robotic lettering across it. They were crumpled in heaps behind her, but one lay in front, alone and afraid being continually stroked by her, in ritual.

"Put the receipts down and come to bed. You don't have to do this, Lily. Leave them. Leave them here and sleep, instead." It was persuasion at its most magnificent; pleadingly gentle and smooth.

She turned her gnarled stance towards the voice and lashed out.

"I want silence. I need my peace. It's _my_ night time."

There was another lengthy pause, a sigh and a reluctant kiss on the forehead in what feigned to be understanding. As the shadow of a formerly great man evaporated, the room empty but for her and her papers, she reached out tentatively towards the ominous door.

"I love you," she whispered, too quietly to be heard. She suspected that not even she believed the words.

He wasn't real, she knew he wasn't. He was just an echo; an echo of her lost love. And he didn't even realise it.

She turned back towards the single receipt in front of her, smoothing it out with her fingers. He had hidden it away among the others but she had found it, at last.

The writing on it, scrawled and rushed, told her coordinates with one mysterious message: _Find the blue box, find Grace, she will help you_. _22__nd__ July._

She rushed to her computer, typing them into Google Maps. A location came up: Cardiff Bay.

She left to pack a night bag, looked into her bedroom at her empty echoed husband, before leaving in her car.

-DW-

Grace leaned against the TARDIS, closing her eyes at the warm sun embracing her. She was home once again. The Doctor stood next to her, smiling sadly. He didn't want her to leave but he understood it was her choice.

He breathed out, "I've dropped us at Cardiff Bay, if that's alright? TARDIS needs a quick refuel, so I thought since where on Earth… there's a rift in Cardiff you see. Perfect for a hungry Time Machine, all that nifty energy. Or rift-y energy, I suppose. I'm fairly certain Rose and Mickey are still asleep… probably tired out from all the spaceship business."

Grace hummed sadly in agreement, "It's fine. I could do with some alone time, I'll get a taxi to London, with all the money you just got for me," she jokingly scolded. The Doctor had just come back from a nearby cashpoint with money for Grace after he'd realised she lived in London, not Cardiff.

Grace steeled herself. She'd already said her goodbyes to Mickey and after her last conversation with Rose, she doubted the older girl wanted to look at her, let alone say goodbye.

She cleared her throat, ready to say goodbye to the Doctor, when she suddenly noticed someone staring fearfully yet determinedly at them both.

_She obviously wanted to see us. _

The woman, standing only metres away from them, looked to be ten years or so older than her, with straggly blonde hair that looked like it had seen better days. She looked ill; pale, gaunt, her face stretched taut in the sunlight. Grace was immediately concerned and spoke before she could help herself.

"Are you alright?"

The Doctor frowned, following her gaze before curling his arm around Grace's waist protectively. The woman could easily be a threat. But Grace barely noticed, instead she took his hand from her waist and dragged him forward to the shell-shocked stranger.

The stranger, tears streaking down her face, reached into her coat pocket – Grace noted she was wearing pyjamas underneath the coat – and shakily held out what seemed to be a receipt with writing added on, placing it in Grace's hand. "T-this told me to come here. It said today's date and said to ask Grace for help, please, please, are you Grace? With the blue box," she gestured to the TARDIS, "I've been waiting here since this morning; it told me you could help!"

Grace furrowed her brow, reading over the hastily written note, before realising something.

"This is my handwriting, Doctor. I must have written it."

The Doctor took the note, read it, and frowned before looking over at the stranger.

"So that's how you saw us… if you were already looking for the TARDIS then the perception filter wouldn't work. Brilliant work with the receipt, Gracie!"

The Doctor then looked to the stranger. She didn't seem unstable or remotely threatening now that he peered closer, no, just frightened.

"How can we help Miss…?"

"It's Lily, Lily Grisby. Just call me Lily." The woman answered, grinning in relief as if a weight had been taken from her shoulders. She sagged her shoulders, before continuing, "It's my husband, David. Something's wrong with him and I-I don't know what! One day, two months ago, he walked into the living room normal and fine, and then walked out empty. I don't know what happened in there, I've looked when he wasn't around to try and spot something, but there's nothing there! I've taken him to hospitals, to psychiatrists, but they say he's fine and _David_ thinks he's fine too. He's the same person, just… just empty."

Grace hugged Lily; she could see how heartbroken the woman was for her husband.

"We'll help you, won't we Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded sympathetically before grinning, energised again at the thought of one more adventure with Grace, "Well, we can't take the TARDIS 'cause she's still refuelling, so we'll have to let you take us to David!"

The Doctor hopped back inside, grabbed his coat before locking the TARDIS door – that way if Mickey or Rose woke up they couldn't run around and get lost – before running back to Grace's side, holding her hand quickly, making her blush. Grace shook her head, amused, and then squeezed his hand lightly, "Come on silly man."

They followed a slightly perplexed Lily, who wondered what the hell this odd man was talking about. She decided to try and take her mind off David and her heartbreak by questioning all the illogical things that had taken place that morning.

"What's a TARDIS? And how did it just appear suddenly earlier – I watched it basically fade into existence! And no one else blinked an eyelid! Thought I'd properly lost it, had it not been for the receipt. How did you two fit in that shed anyway?"

-DW-

Two hours later, the trio arrived at a house somewhere near South Wales. The Doctor made sure Grace was placed firmly behind him for her own protection, before they followed Lily into the house.

Lily continued talking to them, "You should know though, he thinks there's something wrong with me, because I've become so distant. I know it sounds horrible but I just know something's wrong."

They entered the quiet house, the faint sound of a kettle whistling could be heard further down the foyer. Grace looked around, spotting so many pictures of the couple; they were smiling happily and lovingly at one another.

_We're gonna figure this out and bring her husband back to her._

Lily whispered to her, "Thank you, so much, for doing this for him. I can't live without my husband. I want him back. Dad passed away a couple of months ago, then this happened not long after… I can't take much more."

Grace smiled sadly, taking her hand and squeezing it before the three of them walked into the kitchen to find a tired but unthreatening David Grisby.

He looked up, startled before rushing to his wife's side and hugging her tightly, "Where have you been!? I thought, I thought someone had kidnapped you or something! I was so worried Lils, please don't do that to me again."

He kissed her forehead, as Lily teared up at how much this David was like _her_ David. But she knew he was still empty.

Grace and the Doctor shared a worried look – they were thinking the same thing.

_How can she describe this man as empty?_

The Doctor shook his head before snapping into a character, "Hello, so sorry! I'm John Smith, this is Grace. We had a bit of car trouble last night, broke down outside and this lovely woman helped us push the car to the garage, and we all got caught up chatting away over tea. Love a bit of tea!"

Grace smiled before nodding along as David relaxed, knowing his wife was safe.

"Sorry I seem so frantic, I was just worried," David smiled, rubbing his eyes, "I'm sure you'd do the same for your wife," he nodded towards Grace who blushed heavily.

She stuttered, "N-no, we're not married. Nope." Looking up at David embarrassed, she didn't know the Doctor's brief look of disappointment, but David did.

Lily interrupted the introductions though, still focused on bringing her husband back, "Why don't we all head to the living room then, can continue chatting, yeah, John? Grace?"

The Doctor nodded, steering Grace towards the door Lily walked through, while David happily called, "I'll finish making the tea! Don't worry!"

He then turned seriously to the couple, making sure his wife was out of earshot, "I hope you two can help her. She's been different these past two months, sad. This is the first spark of life she's had in ages," he smiled gratefully at the two.

Grace and the Doctor exchanged concerned looks, as Grace tentatively asked, "She told us about her dad passing. Do you not think she's just grieving?"

He shook his head stubbornly, "No. I know Lily. Her mum died young, and she's picked up coping mechanisms. This is different, this is… a different person. It's like Lily's not Lily anymore, more like an echo or something."

-DW-

An hour later, found Grace with her arm consolingly around a still sad Lily, the Doctor at last being able to do something useful, began using his sonic screwdriver to scan the room.

David had just left to make more tea for them, after Grace and the Doctor had fruitlessly asked him whether any strange things had been happening lately, or if he felt ill. Although slightly suspicious, David had assured them he felt fine, and that the only event to happen in the past few months was the passing of Lily's father, Roger.

Grace decided to try and make Lily happier, "So when did you two meet?"

Lily's eyes became wistful, smiling softly, "Actually we were both young. I must've been about nine, he was about ten… we were only kids. We'd gone with our families to Alton Towers, you see, and I ended up in this queue for one of the rides next to him, both of us alone 'cos our families were too scared." She looked at Grace, and grinned, "He always reminds me of that: how _he_ was the brave one, when usually it's his older brother John who gets all the credit."

Grace laughed, "Yeah, my friend Tom's a bit like that. He's the youngest in his family, so he always feels overlooked."

Lily nodded before continuing, dreamily, "Anyway, we got to talking, trying to pass the time, and then we ended up sitting next to each other on the ride. Two kids… complete strangers. We ended up spending the day together, dragging our parent's all over the place. Wish I'd bought the photo from that ride though… we were both gap toothed so it would've been a sight! We became penpals 'cos David lived in Cardiff, so we only got to spend proper time together as friends in school holiday at the time, but then we ended up at Uni together in the city… and the rest is history."

Lily smiled, before wiping her eyes. She'd become slightly teary in her reminiscing. Grace hugged her.

"That's brilliant. Sounds like destiny. A proper love story, huh?"

As she spoke, David came back in, grinning, "Were you telling them about how we met? People always love that story."

He handed out tea to everyone, lastly to the Doctor who had finished sonicing and was now looking around the room with a frown.

Grace stood up and walked over to him, "What did you find?"

He whispered back, "Massive energy transference. Surprised I didn't feel it walking in, but whatever it is, it's unclear. I can't pinpoint it."

Grace pushed him towards the sofa, to join the conversation with Lily and David, while she looked around. She glanced at the photos on the mantelpiece and couldn't help but sigh happily.

One was their wedding day, both grinning happily.

Another was of them revising together as older teens in a library, both glancing at each other sneakily. The frame had been inscribed: 'When we first knew you two were gonna get married! Congrats, Tina and Mike x".

The next was the two as kids, gap-toothed on a ride at a theme park.

The next was them with friends, laughing, not noticing the camera; happy and in love.

_I have to help them. They're too happy together to not fix this._

As she thought this, she did a double take.

"Uh Doctor?"

"Yes?" He walked over to her, as she pointed at the object which he discreetly soniced, before grinning.

"Brilliant! How did you know?!"

Grace turned around to face a confused Lily and David, "Lily, did you say you never got the photo from that ride at Alton Towers?"

Lily nodded glumly, while David agreed, "Wish we had. It was funny, what with the gap teeth and all."

The Doctor walked over to them solemnly before handing them the exact photograph. They both stared in shock and confusion, "H-how is that possible?"

Grace walked over, slowly going over everything Lily had said.

"_One day, two months ago, he walked into the living room normal and fine, and then walked out empty. I don't know what happened in there, I've looked when he wasn't around to try and spot something, but there's nothing there!"_

"It's like you said Lily," she smiled in comfort at the confused woman, "you investigated the room too. You must have been made to forget it as well… David, what did you say about Lily's behaviour the past two months?"

David glanced worriedly at his wife before answering hesitantly, "She's been… empty. Still my wife, but different. I've been trying to help her."

The Doctor nodded, picking up Grace's thoughts, "And Lily, you said David's been 'empty' too."

The couple nodded before looking at the Doctor who held the photo, sonicing it. "I know what this is, but I don't know why it's here. Where did you get this photo frame?"

The couple exchanged a look before a frowning Lily answered, "From my Dad, it's a family heirloom! He died three months ago, so I thought it'd be nice if I put it up in here, remind me of him. But, why can't we remember what happened?!"

The Doctor smiled sadly, kneeling down in front of her. "Because… this isn't just a photo frame," He gestured to the strange carvings in the wood, "It's made by a Carrionite; a magical alien, I guess you could call it. They used to give it as gifts to their enemies, an act of revenge without the victim realising. It transfers the soul of the people in the image, into the frame, and then eats the energy, basically. Whoever's been photographed slowly has their soul sucked into the frame." The Doctor glanced at the photo again before frowning at Lily and David in confusion, "But there's something I don't get. No one can even notice the difference when these are used. It slowly sucks out your energy, until eventually you just die. I don't understand how you two even noticed a change in each other! The point of the frame is that you forget the transference happened!"

Lily began crying, causing Grace to give the Doctor a stern look, continuing with what made sense in her head, she understood human emotions more than him, "Doctor, think about it. They're madly in love with each other; even miniscule changes would be noticeable to loved ones!"

Lily sobbed loudly, "But that means it's been slowly sucking the soul out of my entire family line!"

The Doctor sadly agreed. "Somewhere along your family's history they must have offended a Carrionite, who in return gave them the frame. I'm so sorry Lily."

Lily looked up, "But, Dad had a long life! Mum died when I was younger but Dad was old!"

"What photo was in this when you found it?"

David piped up, mournfully, "Well, originally it was one of your Mum, remember Lils? Her as a baby. But when she died, Roger was heartbroken, so he changed it to one of their wedding day. Remind him of happier times."

The Doctor tried to comfort her, "At least Roger had a long life. And they wouldn't have noticed it taking them, they would have been just as happy as they already were. You two just happen to be more perceptive, I guess, to notice the changes."

Lily sobbed again, "Oh my God. It's taken my family and now it's taking my husband. Oh God, oh God."

Grace stood up, walking over to the Doctor, "Can we fix it? Please?"

The miserable couple looked up, hope in their eyes as David pleaded, "Please John, Doctor, whatever your name is. Save my wife!"

Grace looked sadly at them, while the Doctor answered, "I'm sorry, I don't know how. I've never heard of people realising what the frame was doing."

At that, Grace grinned, laughing, "Oh, but it's so obvious then!" She grabbed the frame, "The Carrionites underestimated Lily and David's love for each other! If no one else has ever realised it was the frame or realised anything was wrong at all, then those aliens probably didn't bother with special protection for it! There would have been no point! So the solution's simple!"

She threw the frame at the wall, the glass smashing, before a golden light shone from the photo, throwing Lily and David into the wall behind them.

Grace cheered, hugging the stunned Doctor who couldn't believe she'd figured it out and saved the couple. He spun her around, giving her a loud smacking kiss on the cheek, making her giggle.

"You did it, Gracie! Brilliant! You humans, eh, always figuring it out with your human-y instincts!"

They turned to see Lily and David crying happily, kissing each other.

Grace giggled, "Oi! You two love birds, come join the hug!"

Lily and David laughed, so happy, before joining the couple who had saved them.

-DW-

Grace and the Doctor stood outside the TARDIS, a few hours later, alone but happy at the outcome of their new found friends. They had just written on a receipt from Grace's purse for the Doctor to send in the past, the note to guide Lily to them.

"Thank you," Grace said, hugging him, "for agreeing to help Lily today. I'm so happy for them. I know they still have to grieve, but we saved them at least."

She reached into her bag, finding the two photos within it before handing one to the Doctor. It showed the Grisby's holding each other, David holding the camera at an awkward angle, with Grace and the Doctor hand-in-hand grinning next to them. Ironically, after everything, David had demanded that they take a photo with their saviours as a reminder of all that had taken place, and ended up giving spare copies to the couple.

The Doctor looked down, smiled at the photo before placing it in his bigger-on-the-inside pockets.

Grace then turned to stroke the TARDIS's door, feeling a sad but friendly hum goodbye from the machine. She smiled, putting her hands in her pockets.

"Come see me again. One day. It'd be nice, I'm sure." She smiled sadly, "I just need to live my normal life for a bit, but I don't want that to close the door on you either."

The Doctor nodded in agreement, "This isn't the last time I'll see you, lovely Grace Summers."

She grinned, gave his hand a squeeze before turning away to head for a taxi bay. She called over her shoulder, "Until next time, fantastic Doctor."

She heard a chuckle in reply, before the wheezing sounds of the TARDIS echoed around the bay, whipping her hair up.

Grace sighed, happy but sad at the same time. She knew she was doing the right thing. She began walking towards the road, checking her phone for messages from Tom, not noticing the bus coming towards her.

Suddenly a large body slammed into her, causing her to tumble to the safer ground, narrowly avoiding the bus, the body still on top of her.

She looked up to see a panting, handsome man in what appeared to be a WWII coat.

The man looked her over before grinning at her, talking in a deep, American accent.

"Hi. Captain Jack Harkness. And you are?"


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's Note: I hope you like my take on characters: Jack and Tom will both be introduced in this chapter! Thanks for reviews, follows, favourites! Again, I'm not revealing anything. Would it be better if for Season 3 I created a new story/series kind of thing or should I just keep adding chapters to this story? **_

Jack Harkness was late.

Very late… but he didn't want to go back to work just yet.

_Owen's gonna kill me. _

Unfortunately, Owen, Torchwood 3's perpetually grumpy doctor, would have to wait because he didn't want to leave just yet.

He was having a _normal_ conversation with a _friend_.

Jack smiled at the beautiful young girl sitting across from him at one of Cardiff Bay's many cafés, happy to have met someone so innocent and genuinely just _nice_. He chuckled to himself thinking about their abrupt first meeting an hour ago.

-DW-

After figuring out from the Doctor's hand – _God that always sounds creepy_ – that the Time Lord was in Cardiff, Jack raced to the destination, hoping he could finally reunite with Rose and the Doctor, and more importantly, get some answers from the couple who had abandoned him so long ago.

_Like why the hell can't I die?!_

Unfortunately, by the time he had appeared on the Roald Dahl Plass there was no sign of the man, Rose or the TARDIS.

Jack had been devastated, until he caught something out of the corner of his eye. A young golden-haired girl was walking straight into the path of a bus.

"Hey! Doll face! BUS!"

She must have been in her own world, because she didn't stop or turn at all.

He ran faster than he already had been, catching the poor thing completely off guard as he tackled her into safety.

Jack lay on top of the girl for a few seconds, dazed and slightly winded at the impact. He realised he was literally lying on top of the girl, and had probably ended up winding her as well as himself.

That was all before his instincts had kicked in, and the flirtatious smile came out, as well as what Tosh called his 'mating-phrase'.

After all, she was beautiful but seemingly modest about it, or just completely unaware.

No makeup or revealing clothes, just a pretty floral dress, tights and boots. Her hair wasn't dyed from what he could see, and as her eyes looked up to catch his gaze, he started slightly. Her eyes were startling; a mixture of colours, swirling together, bright and shocking.

_No wonder she didn't wear makeup, she really doesn't want to cover up those features. _

But, the woman didn't even blush at his tone or his invading closeness, instead she was refreshingly oblivious. She smiled, happily not sexily, before answering in a friendly tone, "I'm Grace Summers. Thanks for saving me Jack."

Momentarily confused by the lack of reaction to his flirting, Jack continued, "It's no problem at all, doll face. I'm always willing to save pretty girls from danger."

He grinned again.

But Grace just tilted her head, looking both adorable and confused before nodding as if that all made perfect sense and stating politely and honestly, "Well that's very nice of you. My name's Grace though," she added, frowning at the nickname.

Jack replied smoothly, "If you prefer Grace, then Grace it is… What can I say, I do aim to _please_," winking at her.

Grace blinked, not understanding the innuendo.

"Well I'm pleased with my name, yeah. I mean really," Grace chuckled, "_Doll face_?"

He leaned in slightly, hoping for more of a reaction, "Well, a nickname just seems more intimate, doesn't it?" He smiled his trademark grin.

A blank stare was returned.

He decided he wasn't getting very far with his charm, so he climbed off of her, offering her his hand. He still had gentlemanly instincts ingrained within his mind after all.

Grace stood, smiling in thanks before gasping in pain, her head in her hands.

"Are you alright?" He asked, genuinely concerned. It was the only non-sexualised remark he had made so far. The girl seemed harmless enough, although clearly she didn't understand flirting at all.

Jack absently marvelled over the difference between flirting outright with a stranger and talking normally to a stranger before concluding that he liked how little pressure there was by doing the latter.

But, he had to admit to himself, he was still shocked to meet someone that was unaware of the charms and the sexuality that his 51st century pheromones oozed.

He vowed to not flirt with her, getting the distinct impression that she either wouldn't understand or would feel uncomfortable given the innocence that seemed to radiate from her.

Grace released her hold on her head, pulling back to see a little blood forming on the palm. Jack winced before offering his hands in a _May I?_ gesture to which she nodded hesitantly.

Running his hands through her hair, noting how lovely the colour was and how soft it was, he soon found she had grazed it slightly from his tackle.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. It's just a little graze, will heal up in no time. Do you want me to take you to get a drink to make up for it? I'll try and make it worth your while, I promise."

He sighed internally at the new levels he was going to just to get a reaction from the girl.

Seriously, soon he'd be on his knees, begging.

"That would be wonderful actually, I've just got back from," her eyes seemed distant, a sad smile creeping onto her face before she shook herself, "travelling. So I'm pretty thirsty, haven't had a chance to actually stop. Always travelling, I am."

Jack gestured towards the nearest street, "There's a nice place that way, fancy grabbing a bite while we're at it?"

As if in response, her stomach grumbled causing her to smile sheepishly, wrinkling her nose.

Jack thought the mannerism decidedly cute, especially given how short he realised she was, only reaching below his shoulders in height. Her petite form seemed to enhance the innocent look she had going on.

"A café sounds perfect."

Jack nodded, understanding but couldn't help attempting one last corny line, "Kind of like you, then."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

He sighed. _Friends it is_.

-DW-

Jack returned his thoughts to the conversation.

They'd been talking for about an hour now, and he couldn't deny how happy he was to have made a friend in her. They had been chatting over random things; he made sure to not mention that Torchwood actually dealt with aliens but instead suggested it was part of Britain's 'security' which was kind of true. He also didn't mention anything about the Doctor, for fear of her running away screaming at the mention of a 'two-hearted-face-changing-time-travelling-alien-in-a-police-box'.

Jack absently remembered who he had originally been trying to find before he had tackled Grace. "You know, if you like travelling, you'd have loved an old friend of mine. Always out for an adventure."

Grace smiled but sighed, "I'm a bit tired from that at the moment though. Maybe I'll have another adventure soon, but for now I like the peace of normal routine, you know?"

Jack nodded, understanding her feelings.

He had loved travelling with the Doctor – not quite the same adventures as Grace was probably referring to – but he knew the idea of some normality was quite appealing sometimes. That's why he loved Torchwood 3.

He completely disagreed with Torchwood 1's motto and their pompous approach to aliens… especially lately, with how suspicious they seemed. Every time he looked into it, suddenly his team had a new mission abroad or some isolated case to look into.

So he knew it was nothing good.

Unfortunately, he got the impression that if he so much as entered Canary Wharf, they'd arrest him, or worse shoot him… and he didn't exactly want them to find out about his immortality.

But, Jack couldn't deny that despite the bad blood between himself and Torchwood 1, he did enjoy his own little maverick group, especially Owen and Tosh.

It was a family for him as well as a job, and he could use all the family he could get, sometimes.

To pull himself from thoughts of loneliness he continued, "So what do ya do when you're not travelling, Grace?"

Grace hummed, "Well, I'm in a gap year at the moment, actually. I attempted one year of University before getting bored with studying and still feeling the urge to go and see the world."

"What were you studying?"

Grace bit her lip sheepishly. She wasn't ashamed of her degree but she knew some people didn't exactly count it, it's one of the reasons people always labelled her as stupid or ditsy.

But she looked up at Jack, smiling. She had known him for one hour and she already thought he was wonderful, he had saved her life, bought her food – she literally hadn't eaten in years, if the eighteenth century banquet with Reinette counted – and he was interesting to talk to.

Despite the carefree attitude, Grace got the distinct impression that he was wiser and older than he looked. His eyes seemed haunted. He reminded her of Tom, actually. Despite her best friend and pseudo-brother being a bit of a nutter, he had that same mature, calming look in his eyes.

"Um… it was only an Art degree. I wanted to become an architect, but I've kind of stalled that career for a bit, wanted to be a bit more cultured first, I guess. Plus, while I was abroad I could see all the art we've been studying, all those buildings!" Grace sighed happily, "Brilliant! Especially in Italy, I just loved it."

Jack grinned, he could hear the passion in her voice as she spoke and it was nice to see someone so young, so interested in something.

He suddenly felt content. Not a common emotion for him, but he couldn't deny that this innocent young girl made him forget about being immortal, about all those he had lost… she was refreshing and interesting.

He had missed normal conversations that didn't involve life-threatening situations or aliens cropping into his life every second.

Unfortunately, he knew he needed to return to said aliens now.

He finished his coffee, leaving money for the both of their orders on the table before sadly saying, "Well Gracie, I'm afraid I have to get back to work now. Torchwood can't run itself! It's been nice meeting you though," he smiled, fondly at the young girl.

She reluctantly stood, stretching her arms, "Yeah, I need to be heading back to London I think before I end up sleeping here," she laughed.

Jack smiled, embracing her in a warm hug, "Here's my card," he pulled one from his wallet and handed it to her, "If you ever fancy another coffee with a friend in amongst travelling, call me."

He saluted her and she mockingly saluted him back, giggling before they went their separate ways.

As her new friend disappeared into the crowds of Cardiff, Grace sighed.

She was sad to leave the Doctor but she also knew she was doing the right thing. Thinking about Reinette hurt and Grace couldn't handle that ache in her heart on every adventure. Something told her that the Doctor suffered through the pain more often than he let on.

But, more importantly, she needed normality, like she'd told Jack. Just drinking coffee and eating lunch in a café with a new found friend was the most 'normal' she'd had since Christmas. First she'd met the Doctor, then her Granddad had passed, then she'd investigated the Krillitanes and then she'd been whisked away to a spaceship and eighteenth century Paris all at once!

_I'll probably have to tone down the details to Tom so he doesn't think I'm completely nuts. _

With these thoughts Grace went in search of a cab.

It was time to head back to London. To her home.

-DW-

Oddly enough, she found Tom on his way to her flat. The man was taller than her by miles, broad shouldered and very handsome in the tough-guy kind of way.

"GRACIE!"

"TOMMY!"

She ran towards him, flinging her arms around his body, laughing with happiness. She didn't even know how long it had been, but she didn't care at that moment.

As they released each other from the tight hug, she decided to try and awkwardly pose the question.

"So… when did we last see each other exactly?"

_Very well put Grace, not obvious at all. _

Tom, as she knew he would, eyed her oddly before pulling away, "It's been a fortnight since that phone call you made, you know the one after I thought you were high as a kite?"

She blushed, remembering her hysterical ramblings after the Krillitane injured her.

"Ah, wasn't sure."

"Ah," he nodded understanding, "Different time zones was it?"

Yep.

"Yeah! You know what it's like in… America!"

She hoped he didn't notice her pause – she'd almost forgotten where she'd told him she had gone. She felt awful for lying.

They entered the flat together, Grace kicking her shoes off and putting on a pot of tea quickly before hurrying back in to see Tom had taken the liberty of putting his feet on her coffee table.

"Feet down!"

"Yes, _mother_."

He sighed dramatically, as if she'd asked him to give her a kidney for all the inconvenience his expression showed.

Tom quickly began the usual post-travelling interrogation, "So, who did you say you were traveling with again? How was it? What did you do? Get any good pictures?"

He was cut off when she ran out quickly, returning with two cups of tea.

She handed one over, composing her thoughts before answering quietly, "It was fun. Magical," she sighed wistfully, "I was with this guy called Doctor, uh, Smith, Mickey and Rose," she added Rose's name as she wearily pinched her nose, remembering all the tension that came with the angry blonde.

"Rose, eh? Sounds like a bitch." He joked, noticing her frown at the name.

Grace sighed, placing her feet in his lap, "No, she's probably lovely. She just… doesn't like me, I guess. I think she dislikes how naïve I am sometimes."

She finished her sentenced sadly, knowing it was true but not wanting to add about what Mickey had mentioned during his goodbye – that Rose was jealous of her closeness to the Doctor.

However, Grace wasn't as convinced as Rose apparently was of the Doctor's 'crush' as Mickey called it. He was a Time Lord… she'd overheard him talking to Rose at the school, about watching humans die while he didn't change. She figured, being an alien, that he must be a good deal older if that were the case.

He needed companionship and she understood the difference between a need to escape loneliness and a crush.

That didn't stop her heart from fluttering at the thought of him liking her in _that_ way, though. She couldn't deny the Doctor had an effect on her… every time he smiled at her, her stomach twisted nervously and she couldn't help but grin back, bashfully.

Grace had only had one boyfriend in her life and that had been a complete waste of time. He had asked her out when they'd been in school together and she'd reluctantly agreed, too shy to really say no and then she'd been stuck in the relationship.

She'd only left it when he got too forceful with her, trying anything to get her into bed, which – she was embarrassed to admit – she just wasn't ready for.

She shook herself to stop the thoughts before they went too far. She probably wasn't even the Doctor's type.

Tom nudged her, "Hey! Don't think that way. You aren't naïve, you're innocent. There's a difference! Besides, it's becoming, you know, makes you seem all adorable and everything. Guys love it!"

Grace laughed, "I don't care what guys want. I like things how they are."

Tom smiled, putting an arm around his 'younger sister', "And that just shows how innocent you are, sweetheart. I wouldn't have my sister any other way."

That got her to grin.

He continued, knowing something bigger must have happened for her to seem as subdued as she did, "What else happened Gracie? I can tell from your face your holding back."

She bit her lip before hesitantly asking what had been bothering her for ages.

"If you're being honest with me, Tommy… do you think I'm a coward?"

Tom frowned. "No."

His tone was firm with no hesitance.

"Really?"

"Look at what just happened – you just investigated that school for anything illegal going on because of my sister's worry over Bruce," he said, thinking of his nephew, "And you did it all by yourself, because I was bloody down with the flu that week," he rolled his eyes, making her giggle because she knew, being as protective as he was, Tom had been worried, "I think that's pretty brave, regardless of what that girl thinks."

Grace sighed, knowing he had figured out Rose had been the one to say it.

"Yeah, but I get scared easily, Tom, you can't exactly deny that."

He huffed before replying, "Being scared means being brave enough to own up to your fears. Everyone gets scared whether they admit it or not, Grace. Don't listen to that girl, okay?"

She nodded, smiling, sipping her tea. _This_ was why she couldn't leave her life. She needed Tom more than she realised sometimes.

"Thanks Tom. I've missed you, ya big softie."

He groaned in disgust, before hitting her with one of the pillows, beginning a fully blown pillow fight.

"Oh it is _so_ on."

Ten minutes and two ruined pillows later, they both lay, tea forgotten, in a pile of feathers giggling and catching their breath.

Tom stood up, holding a hand out for Grace, "Anything else bugging you then?"

Grace plastered on a smile, shaking her head. She couldn't talk to Tom about Reinette because the amount of questions would be ridiculous.

"I'm fine," _God I hate that word,_ "How've you been, anyway? How's Sarah?"

Tom looked sheepish at the mention of his girlfriend before he mumbled, "We broke up actually."

Grace shot up, "WHAT?"

"Yeah-"

"WHY didn't you tell me sooner?!"

He put his hands on her shoulders to calm her down before sighing wearily.

"I found out a week ago she was shagging Tony from The Sly Fox, you know him? He bloody suits that place, the sly wanker."

Grace tsked at Tom's language before frowning sadly. "I'm so sorry Tommy, I really thought she was nice. But," she grinned, "you are obviously just too good for her!"

Her best friend smiled slightly forlorn but nodded nonetheless. He cleared his throat before speaking in a gruff voice that made her laugh, "Enough of this girly emotional stuff. I was coming round to see if you were back from the U.S. to see if you fancied getting a drink with everybody? Ben can't make it but I know Michelle's gonna be there…"

Grace grinned, happy to be home.

"Give me ten minutes to get ready!"

And with that, she legged it, ready to get drunk and forget her troubles with her normal friends.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note: Thanks for all reviews, favourites and follows! Little less of Grace and a bit more Doctor in this chapter. Thought it was only fair given the last chapter was completely Grace-orientated! **_

"**It's **_**not**_** stalking!"**

It had been two Earth weeks since the Doctor had dropped Grace off and he couldn't handle any more of her absence.

It had been an understandably tiring two Earth weeks even if it had only been two trips in the TARDIS since Grace's departure.

At these thoughts, the TARDIS hummed loudly, almost sternly.

"I know, I know! I'll get her back soon." He spoke confidently but inside he was a bit of a nervous wreck.

_What if she still doesn't want to come back?_

He reached into his pocket, finding the photo frame of Lily, David, himself and Grace hidden in there. The Doctor wasn't one for taking photos, mainly because they ended up incriminating him somehow. But he loved this one. He could see the happiness radiating off of him from the photo which made him look to the cause of the happiness; Grace was smiling, relieved to have saved the couple, holding tightly to the Doctor's hand.

His own hand actually tingled from the loss of that presence. He missed her.

He had given her time to come to terms with everything and he knew it was rude to just invade someone's life but he had to find her and travel with her again.

The TARDIS hummed, amused.

"It's _not_ stalking!" He shouted, thinking over the lost Mickey Smith's surprising words of wisdom.

-DW-

"I'm gonna stay here."

The Doctor's eyebrows rose in shock and sadness at losing another person in his travels. He had never been overly friendly with Mickey Smith but deep down, the Doctor knew he had a good heart and a lot of loyalty.

_So that's why Rose came in looking so upset. _

"Are you sure? Once the walls close, they can't be reopened. You'll never see Rose again."

His tone was sombre but Mickey snorted, amused. "I think I'll be okay, Doc. Even the tin dog can only follow someone around so much before it gets tired," the Doctor looked confused so Mickey sighed, speaking in blunt terms, "I can't just sit back and watch Rose follow you around while I follow her around. I'm getting out of it, it's unhealthy."

The Doctor reluctantly understood. He knew Rose had become a little… fonder of him, but he just didn't see her in that way. Ever since his regeneration; she had become more possessive, more controlling, and more suffocating.

Especially towards Grace. He couldn't deny the tension between the two girls and he was intelligent enough to realise that part of the reason Grace had left was because of said tension.

He had to talk to Rose, before it got out of control.

He sighed, running a hand through his already messy hair.

_One day it'll be ginger_.

"I know, and I'm sorry Mickey. It wasn't my intention."

Mickey smiled, slapping him on the shoulder, "I know Doc, kind of figured that wasn't your style."

They chuckled before Mickey checked his watch and turned to leave.

As the Doctor reached for the door of the TARDIS, he heard Mickey call to him and turned round to face the serious looking man standing before him.

"Go find Grace, Doc. I know you miss her and…" he wasn't sure if it was his place to say, but Mickey knew he needed to help the Doctor realise the obvious, "I know you like her," the Doctor coughed uncomfortably, "and I think you two could help each other. You need her Doc; don't destroy a good thing by just running away."

The Doctor, for once, decided to be honest. He needed advice from someone and Rose was clearly not the person to go to, "I'm not running away, she… she doesn't want this life. She was scared, and sad because of Reinette."

He swallowed hard. Reinette had been his friend too, and he missed her, but he knew how much harder it was on Grace whose kindness softened even his hard hearts. The Doctor was nowhere near immune to death, but he had distance himself from those emotions, long ago during the Time War, losing all he had loved.

Mickey looked at the Time Lord, noticing the weariness in his eyes and the defeated slump in his shoulders. The man clearly needed help with his love life.

He gave the Doctor a sly smile, "I don't think that's quite true though, Doc. Yeah she was scared at first; but so is _anyone_ normal! She wouldn't have gone on that little trip you two had together in Cardiff if she didn't want the adventure."

The Doctor's eyes widened, "H-how did you know?"

"-It's pretty obvious with someone with all the grace of an elephant runs into the TARDIS to grab his coat and ends up knocking over the coat rack. You woke me up, you plum."

The Doctor smiled sheepishly before replying, "Thanks Mickey."

Mickey nodded, feeling a lot of satisfaction coming from the fact that he was teaching the infamous _Doctor_ a thing or two about women.

He didn't love Rose, not by a long shot, but before the Doctor had come swanning in, she had been his girlfriend, and he had to admit he had put Rose on a pedestal. But then she went 'travelling' and changed into a distant, smug stranger, always a bit too confident, as if she now knew everything.

Mickey was sick of being second best.

But… when Grace had entered his life, she had been nice and sweet and not so condescending like the Doctor and Rose. And around Grace, the Doctor seemed less _alien_ - it was obvious he tried harder to impress Grace than the others and it was sweet in a weird, alien way.

So Mickey wanted to push the two of them together as much as possible, they clearly liked each other and he hadn't been joking about them needing each other. The Doctor helped Grace to get out of her shell and believe in herself, while Grace helped humanise the otherwise mysterious man in a box, she helped encourage his emotions without even realising it. Mickey had seen the Doctor beam for a full hour just because Grace had smiled his way with a spark in her eye.

So, he felt obliged to help the poor sod out. The Doctor may have been a lot of different things to a lot of different species, but he clearly sucked at dealing with women.

"Listen there are two things you need to do: first, Doc, you have to speak to Rose. I may not have heard what was being said, but I know something went down on that French spaceship. And from experience, I can tell you how vicious Rose can get when she's jealous."

The Doctor sadly agreed. He hated the thought of his companions fighting, or himself scolding any of them, but he knew he had to do something before it was too late.

Mickey continued though, "But eventually, go find Grace, okay? Give her time to deal with everything, to balance herself out, and then go find her. She needs you as much as you need her."

The Doctor hugged the man he had labelled 'Ricky the idiot' awkwardly but with gratitude, before they both separated; Mickey towards his living grandmother and the Doctor to face the woman inside.

As the Doctor entered the TARDIS, he thought over how far Mickey had come from the scared idiot who got eaten by plastic. He found Rose fiddling with something on the console. Not that it would be hard to detect her with the TARDIS annoyed hum running constantly through his head.

He sighed.

_Just get it over with._

"Rose we need to have a talk."

The woman turned, smiling hopefully. She wondered if now that Mickey was gone, he'd admit to some feelings she had sworn he had, especially given the kiss they'd shared on New New Earth. But the Doctor looked weary, as if he was too tired, or a disappointed parent.

"What's up?" She squeaked, nervously.

The Doctor decided to say everything in one long babble, quick like ripping off a band aid, "Listen Rose, you're brilliant, absolutely brilliant, and I chose you to be my companion because you were brave and loyal and brilliant," he took a deep breath. Rose looked excited and apprehensive so he continued, frowning slightly as his voice deepened into a serious, slow rumble, "If you're going to _carry on_ being my _companion_," he stressed the platonic word, "then you have to stop snapping at Grace. I know she isn't here right now, but I will be picking her up again," he watched Rose's face fall, "because I like her and you've got to accept that. I won't have people insulting others or shouting at others in the TARDIS. Ok?"

Rose looked offended. She quickly replied, snarkily, "It's not my fault she was too scared by a couple of robots on a spaceship, Doctor."

The Doctor sighed. This clearly wasn't going to be as easy or as quick as he had hoped. He didn't understand how anyone could dislike Grace, but he knew he'd met that exact person in Rose Tyler. "Rose, everyone gets scared on their first trip and… she lost someone she'd just befriended. How would you feel? If anything she was mature enough to know she needed some space."

His hearts clenched again, remembering the tears streaking down her face as he held her. The Doctor had felt slightly conflicted, his hearts broke from the look of pain on her face but he had revelled in the close contact. He really needed to get a grip.

Rose frowned, "She's only eighteen or nineteen by the looks of her, though Doctor, not exactly 'mature', is it?"

"Rose you were nineteen when you first came on board. You may be twenty-one now given the amount of time you've spent travelling, but two years is a blink of an eye to me."

Rose then began grasping at straws, hoping for anything to stop this conversation resulting in her having been the one at fault, "But, she's-she's unemployed which basically shows how lazy-"

The Doctor snapped, glaring at the girl, "May I remind you that you were only a shop assistant Rose Tyler? Job or no job, I don't care. What I do care about is people insulting other people I care about. Don't try it. It won't end well."

The Doctor's eyes had darkened, pupils dilating until they seemed completely black with anger. His voice had steadily gotten louder and angrier as he'd continued speaking. He couldn't believe how obtuse the human before him was being.

His face was cold and taut; it actually scared Rose a bit. She stepped away before timidly nodding.

The Doctor changed his mood so quickly it was even more frightening. He beamed, "Grrreat! Now then, I'm picking Gracie up in two weeks Earth-time, so we could have one last trip if you fancy? Then we'll go get her!"

And with that, he danced around the console with Rose slightly frozen in shock of his mood swings. The sooner he saw Grace the better.

-DW-

Grace giggled into her phone, balancing it on her shoulder as she shimmied her way into pyjamas ready for bed. It had been a fortnight since she had said goodbye to the Doctor and she couldn't deny she missed him and Mickey a lot.

But she still enjoyed being able to chill with Tom, or in this case, laugh at how drunk he was over the phone.

"Yeah but I swear… when I was walking the tree just came out of nowhere-"

"Go to bed you fool!" She laughed, before hanging up. Putting her phone back in the holder she noticed she had a few messages on her answering machine.

She let them play as she went through them from the past two weeks.

Eventually the last entry came through with a familiar female voice: "DATED TWO DAYS AGO. Hey Grace, it's Sarah Jane Smith. I'm not sure if you're at home or still with the Doctor but I thought I should warn you – a man named Elton Pope is trying to get information on the Doctor and he seems to know who some of the Doctor's companions are and where they live. Be careful and just don't answer his questions, ok? Give me a call if you want to catch up. END OF MESSAGE."

Grace frowned before quickly calling Sarah.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sarah Jane, it's Grace Summers, I just got your message! Who's Elton Pope?"

Sarah Jane, who had been watching telly with her new son Luke, was a bit surprised that Grace was already back home. From the fond looks the Doctor had been sending Grace, Sarah would've thought it might have lasted a little longer.

"Oh, he just called to ask a few questions about the Doctor and the last thing that alien needs is a _fan boy_. Just be careful if he does get in contact with you, eh?"

She heard Grace give an affirmative response before she asked the question bugging her, "So why are you not travelling with the Doctor anymore, dear?"

Grace sighed, heading into her bathroom to grab her toothbrush before responding- slightly muffled due to the toothbrush –sadly, "I met this lovely girl and, for her I was part of her entire lifetime – beginning to end – but, for me, it was just a couple of hours. And I let her down. The Doctor and I…" Grace sighed. She didn't like speaking about it but she knew of all people, Sarah Jane would definitely understand the most, "we asked her to wait for us to come back to her and we could take her to the stars. But when we came back we were too late." Grace sniffled slightly, silent for a moment before adding in a cracked voice, "She was dead. So I asked to come home. I can't do that every day, Sarah, it's painful."

Sarah Jane frowned sadly. She understood how Grace felt after having travelled with the Doctor for so long.

She replied gently, "I know. I had the same experiences, Grace. But I can promise you one thing that is always true. Those hardships, that pain… it made me a better person. The Doctor made me a better person."

"Do you think?"

"I know. But not just that Grace," Sarah Jane sighed, "the Doctor needs someone to care about him too. He's lost his people in the Time War. Don't let him lose you too."

Grace smiled, continuing to brush her teeth thoughtfully. She thought over her time with the Doctor and remembered the grief in his eyes when he spoke of his people. How lonely he looked.

She couldn't just abandon him.

"He won't." She answered firmly, making up her mind, "When I next see him, I'll travel with him."

"Wonderful!"

"Thank you Sarah. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that." As Grace said this, her doorbell suddenly rang causing her to look at the clock on her wall. 23:46.

_Who the hell calls round at this time? _

"Sorry Sarah, I'll have to go, I think someone's at the door," she said her goodbyes before placing the phone back in the holder.

She opened the door, in her pyjamas, with a toothbrush in hand, to see…

The Doctor stood in the doorway, grinning at her goofily, in his pinstripe suit, trench coat and Converse trainers.

"Hello Gracie!" He beamed, rocking back and forth on his feet while Grace stared stunned.

"Beyond weird timing," she muttered under her breath before launching herself at him.

Luckily the Doctor had good reflexes and quickly caught her in his arms, laughing as she hugged him tightly.

"It's so good to see you Doctor!" She said, truthfully. She couldn't deny how much she had missed him.

As the Doctor hugged Grace, he felt all the tension that had been on his shoulders fade away, the darkness that seemed to hover over him uncomfortably dissipating until his happy, excited demeanour returned. He hadn't realised how easy Grace made it to be happy, to forget about all he had lost for a while.

"You look as brilliant as always, Miss Summers." He said, honestly. She really did look beautiful.

Eventually, Grace slipped from the Doctor's warm embrace to allow him into her flat, as she finished brushing her teeth. She had to admit, she felt like she'd been brushing them for about an hour now.

"So what have you been doing since I last saw you? Where're Mickey and Rose?"

The Doctor briefly explained Mickey's departure, which, although upsetting, was very understandable. If her parents were alive in a Parallel World, she'd feel inclined to live there too. He also quickly brushed over Rose's absence, telling Grace she was currently visiting her mother for the night.

Grace remembered what she needed to tell him and jumped up from the sofa, dropping her toothbrush, "I forgot to say! Apparently a man named Elton Pope is after you?"

The Doctor was already nodding slowly, "Huh, weird that. I actually just got back from saving his life from an Abzorbaloff from the Planet Clom, twin planet to Raxacoricofallapatorius."

Grace blinked. "Ok. That's a lot of words thrown into a messed up sentence. I'll just nod. Is Elton okay?" Despite the apparent weariness she should feel for the man, she didn't want someone who was just a bit curious about the Doctor to be hurt.

But the Doctor just grinned gleefully, remarking, "Safe and sound, don't you worry! Managed to save his girlfriend's life too! We-ell, I say save…"

Grace laughed, joking, "Let me guess, she's a talking head?"

The Doctor stared at her incredulously. "How did you know that?!"

"I was kidding!"

The Doctor eyed her oddly before continuing to go over his brush with the Devil and the face-eating Wire alien in London. Grace's eyebrows were almost on the ceiling by the time he had finished babbling.

Eventually he paused for breath, finishing his monologue by asking Grace, "Anyway, I was just wondering if maybe you'd… consider coming back to me? I mean with me! To the TARDIS. To travel." He coughed nervously.

Grace smiled at how adorable his expression was before holding his hand, squeezing it, "I think I would love to Doctor. I'm ready," she breathed out, knowing her words were true. She was prepared this time.

The Doctor beamed before hugging her small body again, "Brilliant! Now, we've got until tomorrow morning free before Rose comes back, so we could… take the TARDIS for a quick spin. What do ya say?"

Grace grinned before grabbing his hand, "Fantastic."

Grace returned to her bedroom, changing into a red skirt with a white blouse and her black boots, before briefly packing a bag of essentials. She then text Tom to let him know she would be away for a bit before returning to a happy Doctor.

As they headed out the Doctor commented, "By the way, you should make sure you lock the door properly, someone got robbed down the street from here yesterday."

"How do _you_ know about that?!"

"I was… watching to make sure you were safe while I was gone. You could've gotten curious about something, investigated and then been kidnapped for all I knew!"

"So you stalked me for two weeks? Doctor, really?"

"It's _not_ stalking!"

-DW-

Grace stood inside the now landed TARDIS, eyeing the closed doors sceptically.

"So what's out there?"

The Doctor winked before taking her hand and racing to the doors, "It's a surprise!"

Together they opened the door into a large multi-coloured rainforest. The trees and plants were exotic and enormous and the whole place seemed to buzz with life. Suddenly they heard a shout from behind them.

Grace turned, only to see a rather odd dressed man of sorts striding towards them. He was wearing slightly tattered clothes, his hair was orange, pink and green, and he wore an extremely tattered hat on his head. He was also holding an ornate teapot.

Grace turned to the still smiling Doctor. "Uh, Doctor? He looks exactly like-"

She was cut off from continuing by the man suddenly hugging the Doctor with all his might.

"Doctor!"

"Hatter!"

The man began shaking the Doctor's hand extremely quickly before turning to Grace and hugging her just as much before he bowed low, taking his hat off and waving it in a flourish.

"Oh it is simply marvellous to see you old friend. Wonderful! Excellent in fact! Of course you just missed our last tea party, but that can't be helped. You and your pretty friend can join us once again! NOW. IT'S TIME FOR TEA."

The man, Hatter, then abruptly turned and began sprinting off, looking like he expected them to follow.

Grace stared stunned before the Doctor took her hand and they slowly followed the crazed man.

"Was that the Mad Hatter?"

The Doctor smiled, reminiscing, "Well what can I say? I was having a drink with good ol' Lewis Carroll one night and we made a bet together, which I lost, mind you, and before you know it I was whisking him away to an alien planet."

"ALICE IN WONDERLAND IS REAL?"

The Doctor frowned thoughtfully, "I always thought it was weird that he called the TARDIS a rabbit hole…"

"Doctor?!"

The Doctor turned to the shell-shocked Grace before winking, looking at her with a gleam in his eye, "Did you never wonder why the rabbit was always going on about time and carrying a pocket watch?"

With that he ran ahead leaving Grace to catch up as she shouted after him, "Oh of course you're the bloody rabbit!"

She could hear the Doctor's manic cackling ahead of her and she couldn't help but laugh along.

_This is completely mad and completely brilliant. _


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's Note: I'm going on holiday to France for a week now, so might not update for a bit, depends on if there's Wi-Fi! Thanks for all follows, reviews and favourites! I know this is shorter, but I was kind of in the middle of packing as I wrote it.**_

Grace and the Doctor had finished their spontaneous tea party, and were currently talking about philosophy among other things with a smoking caterpillar. Grace felt as though she were slightly lightheaded and wondered if the fumes surrounding the caterpillar's smoke were actually getting the two of them high.

She looked over at the Doctor before remarking, "Yeah, probably." After all the Doctor was rocking slowly back and forth in a daze.

As they left to head back to the TARDIS, waving goodbye to the chilled out insect and the crazed Hatter, who immediately threw two beautiful hats on their heads as parting gifts, Grace realised something odd.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor turned, ducking without comment as a teapot suddenly smashed into the doors of the TARDIS, causing it to let out an angry hum. They heard the Hare cackle in the distance.

"Yeeees?"

_Yeah, he's definitely feeling the fumes._

"How come everybody recognises you? You said you came here in a different body, remember? What's it called? Regene-something."

The Doctor grinned, slightly dazed and goofy, "Regeneration! Ah but that's what's brilliant about Wonderland! They always recognise me. Don't know how, guess it goes with the illogicality, no the illogicalness, no the – oh you get the idea. This planet isn't exactly filled with your average Joe aliens. Nah, they're all completely loopy. Which makes them even more brilliant!"

Grace adamantly shook her head, "Pretty bizarre actually."

The Doctor smiled, still a bit lightheaded before doing something he knew he'd probably end up feeling embarrassed about.

_Don't do it you idiot! _He ignored the smart voice in his head, however.

He leaned down, cupping her lovely face in his hands before kissing her lips gently. It only lasted a few seconds, but he grinned, funnily enough, a Cheshire cat grin. Her lips were soft and sweet. Perfect.

Grace blushed heavily, looking down before softly asking, "What was that for?"

The Doctor smiled, "For being you. You're wonderful Grace Summers."

Grace grinned, "You're pretty wonderful yourself, Doctor."

Together they headed back to the console, talking animatedly about their night (or day in Wonderland anyway), both slightly giddy from the chaste kiss but not mentioning it for fear of looking stupid.

-DW-

Rose Tyler found the TARDIS parked outside the Powell Estate as she woke up. After a brief kiss on her mother's cheek and a 'see ya soon' she ran inside to see:

Grace and the Doctor, both wearing ridiculous hats, leaning against each other, giggling hysterically. Rose couldn't help comparing them to the stoners that used to hang around the Estate before brushing the thought off; as if the Doctor would ever do that!

"I thought Hatter had a good point though," the Doctor said after breathing heavily and still giggling manically. Rose could see the happy sparkle in his eyes and she looked down, knowing it wasn't her that put the sparkle there.

"Well of course _you_ would. I don't think I've ever seen a raven and a writing desk in the same room to make the judgement myself."

The Doctor frowned, "Well you seemed pretty friendly with him…"

Grace sighed, as if this was an ongoing argument between them, "It was the colour of my hair I think, he did keep calling me Alice…"

"He calls all the pretty girls Alice," The Doctor grumbled.

There was a moment of silence where the two stared at each other, daring the other to back down before they ended up cracking up laughing again, leaning on each other for support again before they noticed Rose stood, frowning in the doorway.

The Doctor cleared his throat, before beginning to flip switches on the TARDIS, "Hey Rose! We've just been on a quick trip to the planet known as _Wonderland_. Brilliant place! Lovely cuppa tea! Anyway, time for something a bit closer to home, eh? How about the London Olympics?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me!" Grace smiled, before turning awkwardly to Rose, "Hey Rose, it's good to see you again." Rose glared at her before she heard a cough and turned to see the Doctor behind Grace motioning her to be nice.

"Yeah, you too," she muttered as pleasantly as she could. Was it her fault that she felt uncomfortable around the younger girl? After all, Grace had basically waltzed in and stolen the Doctor from her. Rose didn't like it.

As the TARDIS disappeared, the trio missed the first sighting of translucent ghosts appearing worldwide.

-DW-

Grace and the Doctor were walking along the streets of London, arm-in-arm, with Rose beside them, doing her best to get the alien's attention.

The Doctor was currently babbling about the opening ceremony and the 'metal ball bearings' that were on top of cakes, when Grace noticed a group of missing persons posters taped to a wall beside them. She nudged the Doctor who remained unaware until she detached herself from his arm, walking over to the posters.

They showed various children who had abruptly 'vanished' from the street. Grace closed her eyes for some reason seeing images of crayons and coloured pencils flashing across her mind.

The Doctor finally noticed this and turned to her, concerned, "Are you alright Grace?"

The girl had been standing as though in a trance before suddenly shaking her head, turning back to him with a clearly fake smile, "Yeah I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" His tone made it clear he didn't believe her.

But Grace didn't want to talk about the weird flashes going across her mind every now and again. It didn't happen regularly at all but she couldn't deny it scared her a bit. Was there something wrong with her? Usually the images meant something, or were something from the future like… intuition.

She steered the conversation away from herself, something the Doctor noted, "Look at all these missing persons posters. All from the same street. Bit weird, don't you think?"

Rose spoke up, concerned for the children, "It says they all went missing in the same week. Who would do something like this?"

Grace swallowed; she didn't like to think about the kind of people who would hurt children.

The Doctor answered, frowning, "I don't know. But I'm going to find out."

He took off, flashing his sonic screwdriver, with Rose right behind him. Grace was about to follow when she noticed a car coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road, the engine spluttering.

The driver got out as a council worker walked over speaking about how often that had been happening. Grace left to follow the Doctor wondering why she felt cold and so lonely on this street. It just seemed to emanate sadness. Like a lost child.

As she came across the Doctor, who was currently being yelled at he motioned her forward speaking triumphantly, "This is my partner!"

"Huh?!" This was spoken by both girls.

The Doctor winked, dragging Grace forward and presenting her as if she were a prized cattle, "On the police force, remember Summers?" He gave her a pointed look.

The man looked between the two of them sceptically until Grace followed along, smiling cheerily, "Oh yes! I'm… Detective Summers. Hello!"

She grinned, inwardly smacking herself for sounding like a moron.

The Doctor was still holding her hand, motioning to himself, Rose and Grace as he said, "See! I'm Detective Inspector John Smith," he held out what looked like a blank piece of paper to the man which confused Grace, "this is my partner Detective Summers and our… newest recruit. Lewis!"

Despite disliking not being as involved, Rose still gave a stereotypical police-man wink.

The Doctor went on to start sniffing the front lawn, making Grace giggle at his actions. He had to admit, although he was focused on the situation at hand, he did enjoy making the girl laugh. The sound sent shivers down his spine!

They then eventually began following the smell, the Doctor remarking it was like a burnt fuse.

He suddenly stopped as did Grace who shifted, uncomfortable with whatever the sensation she had was.

"Whoa, look at that! Do you feel it?" He was surprised to see Grace nodding, looking a bit scared, so he held her hand, before holding his free hand up to her face, "Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hand!"

She giggled again which he took as a victory.

Grace decided to ask him what had been bugging her.

"Doctor?"

"Hm?"

"You know earlier, when you were talking about being police officers?"

"Yup?" He answered, popping the 'p' with his lips.

She smiled before frowning, confused, "What did you show him?"

The Doctor realised Grace hadn't seen the psychic paper before. He abruptly whipped it out from his pocket before smiling, waiting for the reaction.

"It's blank."

He blinked. That had not been what he was expecting. He frowned, looking at it and shaking the paper before replying, "It should say 'Hello Grace, I'm the Doctor'."

Grace frowned, "I don't see anything."

The Doctor blinked, surprised, before beaming, "Well you're wonderful! Not all humans see what it says, I have to admit, only the special ones see the blank paper! Mainly geniuses, actually."

Grace blushed, thinking back to their kiss. Neither of them had mentioned it but she was glad it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. She knew it happened when they were both not quite themselves, but she couldn't deny she had liked it. A lot.

"Doctor, I'm not clever."

She was being honest, not modest. She hadn't exactly excelled in school, other than at Art.

But the Doctor just smiled, fondly at her. "You might not see how lovely you are but everyone else does, Gracie."

She smiled back, not believing his words, but seeing the sentiment in his eyes. They walked hand in hand over to Rose who had been ignoring them by picking up a cat, until said cat disappeared.

Unfortunately, the situation continued to worsen as the Doctor was then attacked.

By a giant scribble.

Grace found the scribble quite familiar. She spoke aloud, watching the Doctor fight off the thing as she did so.

"Does that remind anyone else of Mr Messy from the Mister Men?"

The Doctor and Rose stared at her.

"Just me then," she muttered under her breath.

The Doctor soniced the manic scribble, making it shrink and still. He peered at it, confused, "I'll give either of you a fiver if you can guess what this is because for once… I haven't got the foggiest."

He continued to ramble, heading back to the TARDIS, out of earshot of the two girls who stood in silence. Grace smiled at Rose, trying to break the ice but the girl just scoffed and walked ahead.

Grace frowned and decided to be braver than her last conversation with Rose. She ran after her before pulling her to a stop and asking her, seriously, "Have I done something to make you upset Rose?"

Rose rolled her eyes. Of course the girl would try to be all kind. She wasn't buying it.

"Really?"

Grace frowned, "Yes. I'm serious."

Rose loomed over the petite girl before letting all of her thoughts come out at once. "You just waltzed in to the TARDIS after knowing the Doctor for about 5 seconds and I can see you trying to get your claws into him, alright? You can play the innocent little princess all you want, but I can see through you."

"Rose. I'm not trying to get my claws into anyone. The Doctor's my friend. But so are you! He wouldn't have asked you to come along with him otherwise," she tried to reason. If it was just a self-esteem issue then hopefully she could help.

But Rose dismissed her words, "I'm _not_ buying it, alright?" She decided to try laying it on a bit thicker and continued with a sweet smile that made Grace uncomfortable, "You may be _just_ friends with the Doctor but I don't want you trying to take him away from me. We aren't just _friends_. He kissed me, you know, after he'd already met you. We were on New New Earth together and he did."

She watched as Grace's brow furrowed, as the girl tried to hide the hurt in her eyes. She felt triumphant.

"Oh."

"Yeah, _oh_." And with that, Rose walked happily back towards the TARDIS, leaving Grace behind once again.

Grace's stomach sank. She wanted to ignore what Rose had said, but she knew it was true. She plastered on a smile before heading for the TARDIS, knowing the missing children needed her more.

-DW-

The trio sat talking to Trish Webber. A woman, whose daughter had created the scribble. The Doctor had analysed it to find it was made of graphite, making Grace remark it was like a child's drawing, leading Rose to yell 'the girl in the window' about a child who had apparently been staring at her earlier.

It had been a good team effort of deduction, really.

They now sat talking calmly with Trish until they eventually headed upstairs to a blank-looking Chloe Webber drawing at her desk. Surrounding the bed were lots of drawings of people, and as Grace watched them, she couldn't help but feel like the eyes were following her.

Grace heard a growl from behind her. She turned slowly, ignoring the conversation, only to see a man's face glaring at her from the cupboard before it roared loudly causing everyone to jump and the Doctor to slam the door shut, grabbing Grace's hand and holding it gently.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, stroking his thumb over her hand.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. What was that man? It was another drawing."

Chloe remarked calmly, "I drew him yesterday."

"Who?" Her mother asked, timidly. Grace was sad to see the fear in Trish's eyes all because of her daughter. She had to fix this.

"Dad."

Trish looked horrified, "Chloe! Of all the wonderful things, why draw him? He's dead, Chloe."

After this, Grace decided to stay quiet for the rest of the meeting, as the Doctor held her hand. She thought over the loneliness of the girl before her, and wondered whether she had suffered from child abuse because of the mysterious man that had been drawn in the cupboard.

She snapped back to the conversation as the Doctor snapped loudly; he had sent Chloe into some kind of trance.

"Name yourself!" The Doctor spoke, loudly and firmly, before the alien within Chloe's mind replied.

"I'm Isolus!"

"Of course," he muttered, "Isolus live within a Mother Ship. Millions of them: one big happy family. Empathic creatures with an intense need to be together, with family. It's what keeps them going."

Grace caught on to his line of thinking, sad as it was, "So you attached yourself to Chloe Webber because you're all alone here, didn't you?" Her tone wasn't angry or judgemental, but understanding. She knew that loneliness especially that of a child could cause them to do just about anything.

"My pod crashed here on Earth after a solar flare hit our ship. I was alone. Frightened. I found Chloe. Chloe Webber is like me. She was alone. We need each other."

Grace couldn't help but feel pity for the alien child. No one should be alone. She looked over to see the Doctor staring, unseeing at the girl and realised he was just as lonely. No one but himself.

She ignored the hurt she had been feeling from the conversation with Rose and quickly hugged him tightly.

Eventually they left, heading back to the TARDIS. After another encounter with the man in Chloe's cupboard to which the Doctor had Trish soothe Chloe with a lullaby, they had quickly left in search of the pod. Trisha had spent the time hiding all of Chloe's pencils, because the Doctor had remarked that if the Isolus was looking for a family of millions, then the Olympic Games opening ceremony would be a good place to start.

Inside the TARDIS the trio discussed what the Isolus' crashed pod would look like, not noticing Chloe Webber looking at them in the distance. Eventually, they left after the Doctor locked the doors securely.

"So we're looking for a sort of egg. It's gray, about two inches across, very light…" he continued to describe the Pod.

The Isolus headed back to her desk, finding hidden pencils underneath it and began drawing. She had seen that this doctor-man was going to try and make her leave Chloe Webber. She didn't want to be alone.

"Maybe if you're alone too, you'll understand," she firstly drew the TARDIS.

The Doctor, Grace and Rose span around to face the TARDIS only to see it vanish before their eyes.

"NO!" The Doctor yelled, and began running back to the house, "Chloe, don't!"

Grace grabbed his hand, running next to him, understanding what was going on. Chloe had drawn the TARDIS!

The Isolus continued, moving on to the next drawing. She began to draw a body, thinking of who the man had been holding hands with in her bedroom, "Now you will be as lonely as I am."

As the Doctor continued running, the pressure in his hand suddenly disappeared.

He whirled around and his hearts stopped.

Grace was gone.

Lying on the desk was a picture of the TARDIS. Next to it was a golden-haired girl.


	11. Chapter 11

**"Give. Her. Back"**

"GRACE!"

He ran, tearing down the street and barging through the door of the Webber's house ignoring the confused, nervous questions of Trish.

"What're you doing?!"

"CHLOE!" He was up the stairs and in her bedroom within seconds, vaguely hearing Rose trying to calm him down.

Chloe Webber looked up from her drawings, her gaze pleading him to understand, "Can't you see now?" She held out a piece of coloured paper to him; the TARDIS and Grace were scribbled on, Grace's hair bright gold, her face perpetually sad. "I don't want to be alone, please, they're my friends."

But the Doctor glared coldly. He didn't think this alien, child or not, was understanding that he was alone. Grace was helping to anchor him down, unknowing but without her… he could feel it. The ominous tension in his shoulders, his gaze darkening; it was why they called him The Oncoming Storm.

He grabbed her shoulders, Trish opening the door with Rose and shouting, tearing up, yelling, but he ignored her, "Give. Her. Back." He growled, menacingly. Chloe looked terrified.

She turned, nervously to Trish to get away from the scary man, "M-mummy?"

Trish, only seeing her daughter being scared and not the scared alien within her daughter's body, immediately began pushing the Doctor from the house, down the stairs as she ignored the Doctor's words and forced him out of her house.

He stood with his jaw set, staring at the empty pavement where Grace had been. He felt terrified and so alone, even with Rose beside him. It was the feeling Grace always faded away when she was around, smiling and innocent and happy.

She made him happy.

Despite it all he knew then as he glared aimlessly, he needed her.

Rose, who had watched all of this, tentatively reached out to grab his arm. As she touched it, he whirled around still glaring furiously making her step back slightly.

"D-Doctor you have to focus, for her," she appealed to him.

But as she spoke, the Isolus, terrified of the man, drew him quickly in her bedroom, until Rose finished her sentence and looked up.

He was gone. The drawing now showed Grace and the Doctor hand-in-hand.

Rose swallowed nervously. She had to get him back, and fast. She needed the Isolus ship.

If anyone had listened in on her thoughts, they would have wondered why she never mentioned Grace.

-DW-

Grace's eyes shot open as she gasped for air, only to find herself lying on the floor of the TARDIS. She looked around absently, before heading to the doors only to found it locked tight.

The TARDIS hummed behind her, sounding frightened and angry.

"What is it, girl?" She asked, cutting through the uncomfortable silence.

The machine made an anxious sound before a light appeared on the console. Grace headed over to it, only to see the monitor showing the outside area. It was blank and white.

"What the-?"

She cut herself off, as she heard a gasp for breath beside her. She turned and found the Doctor lying down casually resting on his elbows. He looked at her and grinned.

"Hello there."

She smiled, confused, "Uh, Doctor, where are we?"

"Oh," he looked thoughtful, his eyes roaming the console, "Well we're actually in a drawing at the moment. Chloe Webber drew you about twenty minutes ago along with the TARDIS… lucky the old girl was a sentient being so she's still alive here, like us. Then, I got a bit angry with the Isolus so she ended up drawing me as well!"

Grace blinked. "She drew you but not Rose?"

The Doctor looked a bit sheepish, "Uh… I may have yelled at her a tad loudly. Just because I knew she had taken you and I didn't want you to be afraid or alone or anything bad like that."

He looked down, not wanting to mention just how angry he had gotten. He hadn't really been thinking clearly, it was all a bit of a blur. All the Doctor had known was Grace had been stolen from him. Even now, in the TARDIS, in a drawing, he was happier. As soon as he'd opened his eyes and seen her looking around, adorable and _okay_… he knew he would be okay too.

"Anyway, now we're here I guess we could grab a cuppa tea?" He looked imploringly at her.

She beamed, "Sounds good to me!"

They walked towards the kitchen, not talking about anything important before the Doctor realised something, "The Olympic Flame!"

"Huh?"

He started waving his hands about excitedly, "The Isolus needs love for the ship to work – the flame! All that support and cheering on and community spirit! That's what it needs!" He then frowned, "How am I gonna tell Rose that?"

Grace thought about it, twirling a strand of hair as she did so, the Doctor watching her amusedly before she sat up from her seat, placing her tea back on the table, "Well, we're in a drawing right now, right? So I guess… anything goes. It's all imagination anyway. So why don't we just think we're holding an Olympic flame."

The Doctor thought it through and then grabbed her, spinning her around laughing, "Oh that is brilliant that is!" He kissed her quickly on the cheek making her blush.

They both then went on to think about the torch being with them until it literally popped into existence. Luckily, the Doctor caught it before they were set on fire.

-DW-

It suddenly dawned on Rose as she stood outside that every picture was returning; including Chloe's father.

She raced back only for the door to slam shut in her face, Trish and Chloe crying for help on the other side.

"Trish, you have to sing to her! Calm her down, you can do it!" She yelled.

Slowly but surely, Trish and Chloe began humming softy, singing their lullaby together as the growling of Chloe's father was drowned out by their voices.

Rose leaned against the front door, listening in relief as the thundering voice of a man slowly faded until only the sound of tear-filled singing could be heard from within the house.

-DW-

The Doctor and Grace sat there for no more than five minutes before suddenly Grace felt a shrinking feeling and watched as the world faded back into the street, next to Chloe Webber's house.

The Doctor turned to her, grabbing her hand and grinning as they raced down the street. The Olympic flame runner had dropped the flame, but the Doctor grabbed it still holding Grace's hand as they raced to the ending bigger torch. Rose watched as they passed her on the street, grinning that everyone had returned.

Trish and Chloe cheered them on as they watched the television, the commentator talking excitedly. "And, these two strangers, we have no idea who they are but they're running and people are just accepting it and cheering them on! The whole crowd is back and no one knows what's going on but everybody's happy. I think Torchwood will…"

Grace panted as they finally reached the massive flame and turned to face the grinning man next to her. The Doctor leaned down, opening his arms to her and scooped her up into them, spinning her around as she squealed. He then, caught up in the emotions of it all, swooped down and kissed her soundly, before lighting the flame, laughing and holding her.

He knew, deep down, that he should stop being so touchy and so quick to kiss her – a human/Time Lord relationship literally couldn't last – but he couldn't help himself.

He _wanted_ to hold her and kiss her because he liked her. Her disappearing into the drawing today had only established that for him in his mind. He couldn't hide from feelings forever.

Grace called out, "Go on, you can do it. Your brothers and sisters will be waiting for you," and she watched happily as the Isolus' pod suddenly shot out into the sky, flying home; the Olympic flame blazed bigger than ever.

-DW-

They walked back to the Webber household, slowly but surely. The Doctor had been trying to grab Grace's hand since they left the stadium, but she'd so far evaded him. Earlier she'd been caught up on the adrenaline and danger of it all but now that the Isolus was home, she didn't want to wear her heart on her sleeve.

Not after finding out he had kissed Rose too – she wasn't going to be messed around with again. David, her ex, had apparently been with other girls during their relationship and it had hurt her to find out from Tom of all people. It was embarrassing and she didn't even have strong feelings for him, whereas she did for the Doctor.

She knew she'd have to start distancing herself so he got the message.

Eventually they reached Rose's figure, and the Doctor, slightly hurt by Grace's evasive behaviour all of a sudden, hugged her tightly.

Rose beamed, pleased, "I am so glad to see you again!"

Grace sighed as Rose continued to ignore her existence. She decided to just head back to the TARDIS after waving happily to Trish and Chloe who happily returned the gesture.

As she walked into the console room, the sound of the Doctor talking about a cake Rose had gotten him filtered in through the doors. Grace sighed, leaving the room and just walking around the corridors, her hand trailing along as the TARDIS responded with glowing warmth where she touched the wall.

Eventually she noticed a new door appear in front of her. She glanced at it, wondering if it would be a copy of her parents' bedroom like last time.

The Doctor had briefly explained that the TARDIS was slightly telepathic and could apparently replicate rooms depending on what the person wanted: that was why the bedroom had popped up and then eventually disappeared – Grace had wanted comforting.

But as she opened the door, the TARDIS humming in encouragement to her, she didn't find what she'd been expecting.

The room was large, painted white with dark shiny brown wooden furnishings. A large King-sized bed was placed proudly in the middle, with white curtains hanging from the four-poster frame.

There was a wardrobe and an opened door revealing a large, marble bathroom next door; an ornate bathtub calling to Grace's tense shoulders.

Placed all around the room were multi-coloured lanterns, filtering out a soft glowing light, and as she looked at the ceiling Grace gasped in delight to find a _real_ starry sky twinkling down at her.

She stepped out of her boots, letting her painted toes touch the soft, fluffy chocolate brown carpet as she padded over to the bed, lying on it and looking up at the stars.

It was times like this she missed Tom. They used to always lie out in her parents' garden, watching the stars in comfortable silence together when they were kids.

Minutes passed by calmingly until a knock interrupted the peace of the room.

"Come in."

At her call, the door opened to show the Doctor peering around curiously at the newly created room. After a look of understanding dawned upon his face, he quickly grinned at her heading over to sit on the edge of the large bed.

"So what do you think of the room?"

She sighed, dreamily, "It's perfect."

He smiled softly, looking down at her with a gleam of affection in his eye that made her blush despite herself. "The TARDIS made it for you."

Grace nodded, not following so the Doctor elaborated with a grin, "It's her way of telling you to stay here, with me," he cleared his throat, tugging on his tie embarrassed, "it's _your_ room, Gracie. She's created your dream room. The TARDIS seems to love you, you know."

She gasped, blinking as she looked around and realised, yes, this was her dream room exactly. Every detail had been perfected for her.

She quickly sat up, "Thank you." She said to the Doctor, and then repeated the words mentally for the TARDIS who replied with a proud hum.

The Doctor leaned in to hug her, but she awkwardly shifted away from his arms. He frowned, hurt again. She'd been doing it ever since they'd come back from the stadium and he didn't want to sound needy… but he was. He cherished her hugs.

"Have I done something wrong, Grace?"

She frowned, shaking her head, "No of course not."

He frowned, seeing she was lying; she was really bad at lying because it wasn't exactly in her nature to be dishonest with someone.

"I have! What is it?"

She bit her lip, peeking at him through her eyelashes, shyly before responding slowly, "Rose told me about the kiss between the two of you on New New Earth and… I just don't want to do those kind of things if you just do them with everyone because, for me it's not something friends do. It means something to me, so I'm really sorry - especially if it's like an alien custom or something-"

She was cut off as the Doctor looked determinedly at her, serious and blank before placing a hand to her cheek, stroking the cheekbone before leaning slowly in until their lips were almost touching. She breathed out shakily as he looked at her with an emotion in his eye she couldn't decipher.

He murmured to her and she could feel his warm breath caressing her lips, "I don't do this with just anyone. Rose actually kissed me after she'd been possessed and I quickly broke it off. I promise."

His voice was a deep whisper and Grace shuddered involuntarily from nerves and anticipation. Slowly, he captured her lips with his, brushing softly against them and nibbling on her bottom lip.

It went on until he pulled away, leaning his forehead against his neck and placing one kiss gently on her collarbone, the feeling tickling her and making him grin as she giggled.

As they separated, both a bit dazed but mainly happy, the Doctor pulled her from the bed and dragged her out of the room.

"I want to show you something, come on!"

They headed out into the console room as he danced around, pressing buttons and pulling levers, seemingly at random. It was like an intricate dance.

The Doctor had a sense of foreboding, knowing Grace was a fragile human and not an almost immortal alien like he was, but he shrugged it off.

He took her hand and led her to the door, before they both sat, staring in awe of the supernova in front of them. Grace leaned her head against the Doctor's shoulder as he placed his strong arm around her, holding her to him.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, her eyes alight with fascination at the amazing view.

The Doctor nodded, "I set the TARDIS to come here quite a lot actually, to supernovas like this one. We're thirty billion light years east of Earth right now, a thousand years in the future… I come here to think. It's relaxing, isn't it?"

Grace nodded, but couldn't help joking, "God, you sound like Lucas from One Tree Hill when he stares at the lake."

He looked at her incredulously, "I don't know what that is, but please don't compare a _supernova_ to a _lake_," he said it sternly but his grin softened the expression.

They sat happily together for ages, enjoying each other's company until a phone ringing interrupted them.

Grace shrugged, "Sorry that's me, hold on."

She pulled her phone out that the Doctor had fixed for her seeing Tom was ringing her.

She smiled apologetically at the Doctor before answering.

"Hey Tom, what's-"

"Grace! Are you alright?" He sounded concerned.

Grace frowned. "Yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"N-nothing just, don't come home, okay? For a little bit. Wherever you are, you're safe so stay there."

"Tom, what's going on? Tell me!"

"Nothing, stay wherever you're travelling until I call you, okay? Don't worry about me, please-"

And he hung up the phone.

Grace stared at the phone in her hands before looking over at an equally worried Doctor.

"What's wrong?" He asked but Grace continued to frown before looking at him, resolutely.

"I need to go home. Something's wrong with Tom and he's telling me not to come back."

The Doctor looked at her, searching her eyes for any hesitation before sighing, "Okay. But we have to be careful, alright?"

He headed to the console, typing in Earth's coordinates until they slowly wheezed back to the planet, in a deserted park in London.

Rose, having heard the TARDIS wheezing twice, hurried into the console room frowning, "What's up?"

The Doctor spoke absently but still serious, "Grace's friend seemed a bit worried for her safety so she's heading home to check on him, just to be safe."

Rose grinned, "Ah, can I go see Mum for a bit in that case?"

Without waiting for a reply she quickly ran out of the doors into London.

The Doctor called for her but she waved him off, pulling out her phone to call her mother. Grace nudged him.

"Go with her, okay? I need to talk to Tom alone anyway, if that's alright. I know where Rose lives, from when we picked her up, so I'll walk over later, okay?"

The Doctor didn't want to leave her but eventually nodded with reluctance. He locked the TARDIS and hugged her.

"Stay safe." He ordered before releasing her and heading over to Rose's form at the end of the park.

Grace smiled, happy, before remembering the situation and walking the opposite way, back home. She checked her phone, only to find it was actually a month since Tom had phoned her and not a day as the Doctor had planned. She shook her head at the Doctor's timing, but continued to walk, thinking up excuses for Tom and getting more worried as she continued.

As she rounded the corner to her house she stopped, staring.

The Doctor and Rose eventually reached Jackie's flat and opened the door to greet her happily, the Doctor a little less involved because he was focused on Grace.

He had realised on the trip that she had never given him her number. Not that he had a phone, but still.

Eventually Jackie paused, explaining to a concerned Rose and a distantly there Doctor about her 'father' visiting.

And the clock shifted to the hour on the dot.

With this, the new shift began, and ghosts appeared all over the world.

One appeared in front of a terrified Grace who quickly ran to her flat, slamming the door shut behind her and breathing heavily before grabbing the phone to dial Tom's number.

Across London, The Doctor and Rose stared, horrified, at the ghost of what Jackie thought was her father. The Doctor switched on the telly to find out something even worse.

They were everywhere.


End file.
